MLB team makes history in come-from-behind win

As a general rule, falling behind four or more runs is not part of the blueprint to win a lot of baseball games. This is particularly true as the game goes into the later innings.

Yet, for now three straight games, that’s been a great model of success for the San Francisco Giants. With that, the Giants have now achieved one thing not done since 1999 and another since 1932.

It started on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. After Andrew McCutchen was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds launched a grand slam, giving the Pirates a 5-0 lead after four innings. The Giants got one in the fifth and another two in the sixth to bring it to 5-3. They then tied the game with a run in both the eighth and ninth innings and scored four in the tenth to complete the wild comeback. Then came Thursday.

Pittsburgh’s Joey Bart — who, like Reynolds, is a former Giants prospect — hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie. San Francisco got one back in the top of the seventh, but the Pirates responded in the bottom half to take a 6-2 lead going into the eighth inning. But behind a three-run home run from Matt Chapman and a pair of RBI singles from Wilmer Flores and Brett Wisely, the Giants took a 7-6 lead in the eighth inning, eventually winning the game by that margin.

But would the comeback magic travel with the Giants to New York for Friday’s game against the New York Mets? As it turns out, yes. San Francisco took an early lead at Citi Field on Friday, going up 2-1 after three innings. But the Mets struck back in the fourth inning, as a Jeff McNeil RBI single tied the game and Tomas Nido hit a sacrifice fly to put New York ahead 3-2. Solo home runs from Mark Vientos, J.D. Martinez and Pete Alonso gave the Mets a 6-2 lead going into the eighth inning.

With two outs and two runners on, San Francisco’s Thairo Estrada hit an RBI double. Then, after Chapman walked to load the bases, Patrick Bailey hit a 2-0 pitch from Reid Garrett into the visitor’s bullpen for a grand slam, giving the Giants a 7-6 lead.

The stunned Mets went down in order in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth, San Francisco’s Mike Yastrzemski hit a solo home run to go up 8-6. It was an insurance run that would come in handy.

Francisco Lindor nearly tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, rattling an RBI off of the wall. But after an error from shortstop Marco Luciano on what looked to be a game-ending double play, the Mets were in business. Giants closer Camilo Doval intentionally walked Brandon Nimmo to load the bases with one out, then struck out Martinez. After falling behind 3-0 to Vientos, Doval threw a pair of strikes to set up a full count.

Vientos hit a soft dribbler to third, which looked like it would be a game-tying infield single. But Chapman showed why he’s a four-time Gold Glove winner, as he charged in, barehanded the ball and threw a one-hopper to first base. LaMonte Wade Jr. made a great play in his own right to not only catch the ball but keep his foot on the base. And with that, the game was over.

And for the third game in a row, the Giants won a game in which the win probability chart resembled a roller coaster.

As the Giants broadcast on NBC Sports Bay Area detailed, this hasn’t been done this century.

The last time a team won three straight games in which it trailed by four or more runs was in 1999, when the then-Florida Marlins did it, incidentally against the Giants.

The last time it happened on the road was in 1932. The St. Louis Cardinals had three straight comeback victories against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Interestingly enough, this streak got started a day after the Giants were on the wrong end of one of those comebacks. On Tuesday, they led the Pirates 6-2 going into the ninth inning but blew the game.

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