The Braves won in seven games, becoming the eighth team in baseball history to win a best-of-seven postseason series after being down 3–1, and first to overcome such a deficit in the NLCS.
St. Louis tied the game in the seventh on three consecutive leadoff singles by Gary Gaetti, John Mabry and Tom Pagnozzi, but Atlanta catcher Javy López gave Atlanta back the lead for good with a two-run bases-loaded single in the bottom of the eighth off of T.J. Mathews, both runs charged to Mark Petkovsek.
Thursday, October 10, 1996, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia The Braves sent Greg Maddux to the mound versus Todd Stottlemyre looking to go up two games to none on St. Louis.
In the seventh inning, a throwing error by Chipper Jones on Mark Sweeney's ground ball, single and walked load the bases with no outs for the Cardinals.
Saturday, October 12, 1996, at Busch Stadium (II) in St. Louis, Missouri The Braves struck first in Game 3 when Marquis Grissom singled to lead off the first, moved to second on a groundout, then to third on a wild pitch by Donovan Osborne before scoring on Chipper Jones's sacrifice fly, but in the bottom of the inning, Royce Clayton singled and Ron Gant's two-run home run off of former teammate Tom Glavine put the Cardinals up 2–1.
The Braves loaded the bases with no outs on three straight singles off of Osborne and Mark Petkovsek in the seventh, but scored only once on a Jermaine Dye sacrifice fly.
Sunday, October 13, 1996, at Busch Stadium (II) in St. Louis, Missouri Needing the win to help stave off an upset, the Braves struck first on a Ryan Klesko home run in the second off of Andy Benes.
Denny Neagle was on the mound for Atlanta and pitched shutout ball until the seventh inning, when he allowed a two-out single to John Mabry and a walk to Tom Pagnozzi to end his night.
Behind 24-game winner John Smoltz and 22 hits (an LCS record), the Braves forced the series to return to Atlanta with Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium still scheduled for demolition over the fall and winter.
While Maddux mowed down the Cardinals, with some help from a great catch by center fielder Marquis Grissom, the Braves struck first in the second on Jermaine Dye's sacrifice fly with runners on second and third.
Wohlers pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn the save, finish off the Cardinals, and to extend the Championship Series to its seventh game.
Thursday, October 17, 1996, at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia The Braves clinched the NLCS with a blowout Game 7 win.
In the fourth, the Cardinals game 1 and 4 starter, Andy Benes, walked two straight batters with one out before McGriff drove them both in with a single aided by an error, then Javy López's home run made it 10–0 Braves.
Mike Bielecki and Steve Avery pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively as the Braves advanced to the World Series for the second straight year.