By the Numbers

With the Yankees coming back to take a 3-2 World Series lead over the Braves, whom does history favor?

That depends.

Of the 43 teams that have opened the Series by winning the first two games, as the Braves did, 33 have gone on to win the championship.

On the other hand, only 18 teams have come back to win the Series from a 3-2 deficit.

HOME MATTERS

Only five teams in World Series history have lost the final two games of a seven-game series at home:

* 1926--St. Louis def. Yankees

Grover Cleveland Alexander pitched a complete game as the Cardinals won Game 6, 10-2, and got the save in Game 7, a 3-2 victory.

* 1934--St. Louis def. Detroit

Daffy Dean and Dizzy Dean pitched consecutive complete games to lift the Cardinals to 4-3 and 11-0 victories at Detroit.

* 1952--Yankees def. Brooklyn Dodgers

Mickey Mantle hit decisive home runs in each of the final games to give New York narrow 3-2 and 4-2 victories.

* 1958--Yankees def. Milwaukee Braves

Moose Skowron singled in the game-winner in the 10th inning of Game 6, and hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning of Game 7 as the Yankees broke away for a 6-2 victory.

* 1979--Pittsburgh def. Baltimore

John Candelaria and Kent Tekulve combined on a shutout in Game 6 and Willie Stargell’s two-run homer in the sixth inning keyed a 4-1 victory in Game 7.

ROAD WARRIORS

A list of the New York Yankees’ road records against the 1996 playoff teams in the regular season and the postseason:

REGULAR SEASON (13-5)

* 6-0 at Cleveland Indians

* 6-0 at Baltimore Orioles

* 1-5 at Texas Rangers

POSTSEASON (8-0)

* 2-0 at Texas Rangers

* 3-0 at Baltimore Orioles

* 3-0 at Atlanta Braves