National League Division Series (original) (raw)
In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The NLDS is actually two best-of-five series with the three division winners and a wild-card team participating. The NLDS was created after the 1994 season when Major League Baseball restructured the National League into three divisions.
Typically, the wild-card team plays the division leader with the best winning percentage in one series, and the other two division leaders play the other series. However, if the wild-card team and winningest division leader are from the same division, the wild-card team plays the next winningest division leader, and the other two division leaders play. In any event, the two series winners move on to the best-of-seven NLCS.
Since the NLDS's inception, the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros are the only team to have met more than twice, with the Braves winning the series each time.
NLDS results (1995-present)
| Year | Winner | Loser | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Atlanta Braves | Colorado Rockies† | 3 | 1 |
| Cincinnati Reds | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3 | 0 | |
| 1996 | Atlanta Braves | Los Angeles Dodgers† | 3 | 0 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | San Diego Padres | 3 | 0 | |
| 1997 | Atlanta Braves | Houston Astros | 3 | 0 |
| Florida Marlins† | San Francisco Giants | 3 | 0 | |
| 1998 | Atlanta Braves | Chicago Cubs† | 3 | 0 |
| San Diego Padres | Houston Astros | 3 | 1 | |
| 1999 | Atlanta Braves | Houston Astros | 3 | 1 |
| New York Mets† | Arizona Diamondbacks | 3 | 1 | |
| 2000 | St. Louis Cardinals | Atlanta Braves | 3 | 0 |
| New York Mets† | San Francisco Giants | 3 | 1 | |
| 2001 | Atlanta Braves | Houston Astros | 3 | 0 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | St. Louis Cardinals† | 3 | 2 | |
| 2002 | St. Louis Cardinals | Arizona Diamondbacks | 3 | 0 |
| San Francisco Giants† | Atlanta Braves | 3 | 2 | |
| 2003 | Chicago Cubs | Atlanta Braves | 3 | 2 |
| Florida Marlins† | San Francisco Giants | 3 | 1 |
†Denotes wild-card team.