For the second time this World Series, there was no “happy flight” for the Cardinals. They had won 15 straight games on getaway day before blowing a ninth-inning lead in Game 2 and letting a late-inning tie in Game 5 slip away.

St. Louis now trails the Rangers 3-games-to-2 in this year’s Fall Classic, but recent history is actually on their side.

Though nearly two-thirds (27 out of 41) of the tiebreaking Game 5 winners ended up winning a World Series that was knotted 2-2, oddly six of the nine most recent Game 5 winners actually lost the series.

Notably, all six of those teams — the 1982 Brewers, ’86 Red Sox, ’87 Cardinals, ’91 Braves, 2001 Yankees and ’02 Giants — played their final two games on the road, just as the Rangers will have to do when traveling to St. Louis for Game 6 scheduled on Wednesday.

What’s more, in the nine previous World Series in which the Cardinals were tied 2-2 through four games, they won the championship in seven of them, including four times after losing Game 5.

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Down 3-2, Cards have reasons for optimism