May 11 pregame: Comeback of the comebacks

By Jon Weisman

Saturday’s 6-2 victory over San Francisco marked the Dodgers second comeback victory of the season after being down by at least two runs, and first when trailing by at least two runs after the fifth inning.

The 2014 Dodgers’ other major comeback was when they gave up four runs to Arizona in the third inning on April 19 but scored three in the fourth and five in the fifth.

The last time the Dodgers rallied from trailing by at least two runs after the fifth inning was August 14 against the Mets, in which the Dodgers fell behind 4-0 early, but scored two in the sixth and then got a game-tying, two-run homer from Andre Ethier in the ninth. Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez hit back-to-back doubles in the 12th to win it.

In general, the Dodgers have been a team that wins by getting leads early and holding them, which, for all the excitement a great rally brings, isn’t a bad formula. But in last year’s 42-8 run, the Dodgers had 11 comeback victories, five of them after being down by at least two runs in the sixth inning or later. Show me the magic:

• June 27 (down by a run to the Phillies in the seventh)
• July 3 (down by three runs to the Rockies in the fourth)
• July 10 (down by two runs to the Diamondbacks in the seventh)
• July 19 (down by a run to the Nationals in the third)
• July 23 (down by five runs to the Blue Jays in the seventh)
• August 1 (down by two runs to the Cubs in the third)
• August 5 (down by one run to the Cardinals in the fourth)
• August 9 (down by six runs to the Rays in the seventh)
• August 12 (down by two runs to the Mets in the sixth)
• August 13 (down by one run to the Mets in the fifth)
• August 14 (down by two runs to the Mets in the sixth)