MLB Playoffs 2011: 5 Best Game 5's in Division Series History

If you aren’t already salivating in anticipation of three decisive MLB postseason games, the following list of best Game 5's in MLB Division Series history ought to whet your appetite.

What better way to prepare for two days of winner-take-all baseball?

Six teams, at least 27 innings, three winners and three losers. Those are the parameters.

If the past is any prologue, we’re in for a special 48 hours of baseball hysteria.

5. 1997 Cleveland Indians Def. New York Yankees

Call it the flash of lightning before the thunder clap, the wind before the rain, the rumble before the avalanche.

Whatever weather metaphor you want to use, Cleveland fans knew Jose Mesa was trouble before he collapsed in Game 7 of that year’s World Series.

After Cleveland jumped to an early 4-0 advantage, the Yankees clawed back into the game with two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth.

Mesa, the closer, entered with one out in the eighth and gave up three hits over 1.2 innings of work, including a two-out double to Paul O’Neill in the top of the ninth.

O’Neill’s hit brought star outfielder Bernie WIlliams to the plate with a chance to tie or take the lead.

With the game and the season in the balance, Williams drove a fly ball into deep left field where it settled into Brian Giles’ glove.

The Indians moved on and the Yankees tasted a rare bit of disappointment during their mid-1990s dynasty.

5. 2003 Boston Red Sox Def. Oakland Athletics

Among many postseason failures and blown leads, this one might have been the worst for the never-quite-there Oakland A’s teams of the early 2000s.

After winning the first two games of the series in Oakland, the A’s lost two heartbreakers at Fenway Park, one in the 11 innings and one after carrying a lead into the eighth.

In Game 5 Oakland jumped out to another early lead, only to watch the 2-0 cushion evaporate in a disastrous four-run top of the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the ninth Oakland loaded the bases, but Terrence Long struck out against patchwork closer Derek Lowe to cement another cruel fate for Billy Beane’s bunch.

3. 1999 Boston Red Sox Def. Cleveland Indians

Remember those glory days, Red Sox fans?

Back when it wasn’t all collapses and firings?

Remember when the other team choked?

Down 2-0 in the 1999 ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, the Red Sox fought back with 9-3 and 23-7 wins at Fenway Park to force a decisive Game 5 at Jacobs Field.

There the Red Sox bats sprung to life once more and staked Boston to leads of 2-0 and 7-5. Each time Red Sox starter Derek Lowe gave the lead back to Cleveland, prompting manager Jimmy Williams to bring ailing ace Pedro Martinez in from the bullpen.

Martinez responded with a brilliant performance, throwing six hitless innings against a loaded Cleveland lineup that included Kenny Lofton, Roberto Alomar, Jim Thome, David Justice and Manny Ramirez.

With Pedro holding the Tribe in line, the Red Sox stormed back to score five runs over the final six innings and win the game 12-8.

2. 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks Def. St. Louis Cardinals

In a prelude of heroics to come, the Arizona Diamondbacks won a Game 5 for the ages against a wild-card St. Louis Cardinals team that actually won more games than they did during the regular season.

With Curt Schilling dominating on the mound, Arizona took a 1-0 lead into the top of the eighth. A home run by J.D. Drew in that inning tied the game and sucked the life out of Bank One Ballpark.

After the teams traded outs in the bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth, Matt Williams led off the ninth with a double. A sac bunt moved pinch-runner Midre Cummings to third. After an intentional walk Cummings was gunned down at the plate on a missed suicide squeeze attempt that allowed the runner on first to move up a base.

Undeterred by the setback, Arizona second baseman Tony Womack muscled a two-out floater to left-center field to give the Diamondbacks a clinching 2-1 win.

Weeks later Luis Gonzalez would hit a similar ball in a similar spot in Game 7 against the Yankees to give Arizona its first-ever World Series.

1. 1995 Seattle Mariners Def. New York Yankees

In the first year of wild-card play, the Seattle Mariners, led by the talented triumvirate of Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and Edgar Martinez, took Don Mattingly’s Yankees to a decisive tilt with a dramatic, 11-8 Game 4 victory.

Down 4-2 entering the bottom of the eighth in Game 5, the young Mariners summoned another round of heroics by scoring two and forcing the game into extras.

In the top of the 11th the Yankees scored once more to take the lead, but the resilient Mariners would not be denied. Alex Cora led off to a bunt single and advanced to third on a single by Griffey.

Edgar Martinez then drove in both the tying and go-ahead runs with a double down the left field line, sparking a crazed celebration at Seattle’s Kingdome. Teammates swarmed Griffey as he crossed the plate and cameras caught the young star laughing uncontrollably under a crush of teammates.

The victory capped an incredible late-season run by Seattle to qualify for the franchise’s first-ever postseason, and the image remains one of the most enduring in Griffey’s storied career.