 The Yankees and the Red Sox finished tied for first in 1978 ; subsequently , the Yankees won a high @-@ profile tie @-@ breaker game for the division title . The first @-@ place tie came after the Red Sox had enjoyed a 14 @-@ game lead over the Yankees more than halfway through the season . Similarly , in the 2004 AL Championship Series , the Yankees ultimately lost a best @-@ of @-@ 7 series after leading 3 – 0 . The Red Sox comeback was the only time in baseball history that a team has come back from a 0 – 3 deficit to win a series . The Red Sox went on to win the World Series , effectively ending the 86 @-@ year @-@ old curse . 
