Five Memorable Postseason Series That Turned On a Dime

As the Kansas City Royals proved, a series can shift on a dime. Here are five of the biggest momentum-turning moments over the last 20 years.

Eric Hosmer's (R) two-run home run in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the ALDS capped a seven-run, two-inning rally that allowed the Royals to tie the series at two games apiece. Eric Christian Smith/Getty Images

Few games have turned like the Game 4 ALDS classic Monday between Houston and Kansas City.

The Astros, up 2–1 in the series, broke open a 3–2 game with a three-run seventh that looked like it would all but clinch the series. Kansas City had just two hits to that point and with a raucous crowd on their side, Houston was surely smelling a win.

Then something shocking happened.

The Royals opened the eighth with five straight singles, followed by a tough error on shortstop Carlos Correa to score a pair of runs and improbably tie the game at six. An RBI-groundout by Alex Gordon three batters later put Kansas City up 7–6 before the inning ended. Then in the ninth, Eric Hosmer’s two-run home run then added some insurance as closer Wade Davis shut the door over a stunned Astros team—and crowd—with a 9–6 win.

It’s another in a long line of shocking, series-turning moments that have made baseball’s postseason play so exciting. Here are the five biggest momentum-seizing plays since the advent of the wild card in 1994:

5. 2007 ALCS Game 6: J.D. Drew’s $14 million Grand Slam

Boston's J.D. Drew hit a first-inning grand slam off Cleveland' Fausto Carmona that helped the Red Sox to a Game 6 blowout and they would finished the job with another win in Game 7. AP Photo/Stephan Savoia