What is the NLCS? Recent Winners, Schedule, and MLB Playoff Format

Below is a list of the last 10 NLCS matchups with the victorious teams in bold.

• 2024: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets
• 2023: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies
• 2022: Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres
• 2021: Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
• 2020: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves
• 2019: Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals
• 2018: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers
• 2017: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs
• 2016: Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
• 2015: New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs

We can't know when the first pitch of the NLCS will be until we know how deep the playoffs series that precede it go.

If the wild card and division series are long, the NLCS will be pushed deeper into October. If they are short and lopsided, it might start sooner.

Whether the National League Division Series goes four games or seven games, there's still a relatively small window for the battle for NL supremacy.

The 2025 playoff schedule has not been released, but if its start date is around October 1 and the last possible date for a World Series game is early November, a good estimate for the 2025 NLCS dates is October 13-22.

The MLB playoffs have changed a lot in recent decades.

Before 1995, only four teams participated in a two-round postseason tournament. From 1903 to 1968, the playoffs were just a World Series between the best teams in the AL and NL during the regular season.

For the last 30 years, the league has been adding more teams to the postseason. Here's a quick rundown of the growth of the MLB playoffs:

• 1995: MLB goes to three divisions in each league, adds a division winner to the postseason, and a 'wild card' — the best team in each league that didn't win their division. Now, eight teams make the playoffs: three division winners from the AL, three from the NL, and one wild card from each league.
• 2011: MLB adds another wild-card team. Now, the two wild card teams play a one-game playoff to determine who advances to the playoff field.
• 2020: MLB goes to a 16-team playoff field in a shortened season. Returns to 2011-2019 format in 2021.
• 2022: MLB adds a third wild card team and changes the wild card game to a best-of-three series. Now, 12 teams make the postseason each year.

With all of the adjustments, the MLB playoffs now have four rounds:

1. Wild-Card Round: The three best teams in the AL and NL who did not win their division — and the division winner with the worst regular season record — compete in a three-game series to see who will face the two division winners in each league with the best record. The lowest-seeded wild card (6 seed) faces the lowest-seeded division winner (3 seed), and the top wild card (4 seed) faces the second-ranked wild card (5 seed). All games are played at the home ballpark of the higher seed.
2. Divisional Round: The wild-card round survivors face the two highest-seeded division winners in the AL and NL in a best-of-five series. The bracket is not re-seeded based on results, meaning that the top seed in each league plays the winner of the series between the 4 and 5 seeds in every case, even if the 6 seed upsets the 3 seed.
3. Championship Series: The ALCS and NLCS are best-of-seven battles between the last surviving teams in the AL and NL. Home-field advantage is determined by the teams' regular season records for these series.
4. Word Series: The last remaining American League and National League teams face off to determine who wins the MLB title.