Los Angeles faces elimination after a Game 3 loss, with manager Dave Roberts the only man to ever help engineer a comeback from such a deficit.
The Dodgers are staring at a 3-0 hole in their league championship series, and the only reason anyone is even talking about a comeback is the man in the dugout. Dave Roberts is the only player in MLB history to be part of a team that erased a 3-0 series deficit, doing it as an outfielder for the 2004 Red Sox against the Yankees.
That comeback started with a stolen base. Pinch running for Kevin Millar in the bottom of the ninth of Game 4 with Boston trailing 4-3, Roberts worked his way past several Mariano Rivera pick-off attempts before stealing second and coming around to tie the game, part of four straight wins that buried New York's 3-0 lead for good.
This time around, Roberts is the one trying to pull the strings from the bench, and so far it has not gone well. According to the L.A. Times, Roberts made a string of moves in Game 3 that backfired, from bench decisions to non-pitching changes, and none of it stopped the Dodgers from blowing a lead. Roberts and his players insist there is still room for optimism, though Roberts himself says he will not be leaning on the 2004 story to rally his team now, joking that bringing it up would only lose the room.