[15] The Cubs began postseason play with starter Jon Lester on the mound facing Johnny Cueto for the Wild Card Game-winning Giants.

In the top of the third, the Giants answered, scoring two runs on back-to-back doubles by Joe Panik and pinch-hitter Gregor Blanco and a sacrifice fly by Brandon Belt.

Reliever Travis Wood ended the Giants' rally and, in the bottom half of the fourth, hit a home run to put the Cubs up 5–2.

[17] The Cub bullpen of Carl Edwards Jr., Mike Montgomery, and Héctor Rondón shut down the Giants with Aroldis Chapman getting another save.

Closer Aroldis Chapman came in early to seek a six-out save, but gave up a two-run triple to Conor Gillaspie to give the Giants' their first lead of the series.

In the ninth, trailing 5–3, Dexter Fowler led off with a walk and Kris Bryant hit a two-run home run off Giants' closer Sergio Romo.

With the Giants looking to continue their streak of wins in elimination games to 11, the Cubs sent John Lackey to the mound against Matt Moore.

Lackey allowed a leadoff double to Denard Span and a sacrifice fly by Buster Posey to give San Francisco an early 1–0 lead.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy countered with lefty reliever Will Smith and Maddon switched to rookie catcher Willson Contreras instead.

Maddon theorized all the pressure would have been on the Cubs having to face an experienced Giants team and Johnny Cueto in a potential winner-take-all Game 5 at Wrigley Field.

[25] Plans called for retired pitcher Liván Hernández to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, but after Hurricane Matthew′s effects on Florida made it impossible for Hernández to fly to Washington, the host team surprised the fans at Nationals Park by having Nationals starting catcher Wilson Ramos, whose season had ended with a knee injury on September 26, throw it instead.

[27] The game was billed as a marquee matchup between two of the best starting pitchers in Major League Baseball, Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers and Max Scherzer for the Nationals, but neither was particularly sharp.

In the third inning, after Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley drove in Andrew Toles with an RBI single, Scherzer gave up a two-run home run to Justin Turner, giving Los Angeles a 4–0 lead.

[28] Kershaw pitched five innings and held onto the lead, but the Nationals repeatedly pushed him to the brink, while his frequent discussions on the mound with Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal incited boos from the crowd.

Severino doubled in the fourth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Trea Turner to bring Washington within 4–3, but in the fifth, with Jayson Werth and Rendon on base, Espinosa again struck out to end the inning.

In the eighth, Clint Robinson doubled in the first postseason plate appearance of his career and speedy Michael A. Taylor pinch-ran, but Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen struck out pinch-hitter Chris Heisey on a called third strike to end the inning.

[34] Dodgers starter Rich Hill used his curveball very effectively for 3+2⁄3 innings, and Los Angeles held a 2–0 lead in the bottom of the third when Lobatón came to bat again with two outs and Daniel Murphy and Danny Espinosa on base.

[35] Although Roark had an uncharacteristically unsteady outing, the Dodgers were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position during the first five innings even though they had the bases loaded with one out three times,[33] at least in part thanks to good Nationals defensive plays, notably by left fielder Jayson Werth.

After that, Washington's bullpen, a postseason weakness for the 2012 and 2014 teams, held the Dodgers scoreless; Marc Rzepczynski, Sammy Solis, Blake Treinen, Óliver Pérez, and Mark Melancon combined to give up only three walks (all by Rzepczynski) and one hit (a single yielded by Melancon) in the game's remaining 4+2⁄3 innings, striking out five Dodgers.

As the series crossed the country to Los Angeles, the visiting Nationals put pressure on Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda from the outset, loading the bases in the first inning on a single and two walks; although they did not score, they forced him to throw 28 pitches.

In the Dodgers′ half of the first, Nationals starter Gio González walked Justin Turner, followed by Corey Seager staking L.A. to a 1–0 lead in the first inning, as he had in both previous games of the series, this time with a double.

Bryce Harper then singled, scoring Werth to give the Nats a 2–1 lead, and Anthony Rendon followed with a 432-foot (132-meter), two-run home run into the left-field seats, putting Washington ahead 4–1.

[40] Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen came in to pitch, hoping to give the Dodgers a chance to tie or win the game in the bottom of the inning.

Nationals starter Joe Ross, however, had a rough first inning himself, hitting Justin Turner with a pitch and giving up a two-run homer to Adrián González.

Ross left the game with the Dodgers leading 4–2, having thrown 55 pitches in 2+2⁄3 innings, giving up four runs, all earned, on three hits and two walks, and striking out three.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen secured the Dodgers′ victory with a perfect ninth in which he struck out two Nats, and Los Angeles tied the series at two.

[44] For the fifth and final game of the series, at Nationals Park, Dodgers starter Rich Hill on short rest struggled and didn't make it out of the third inning, yet gave up just one run.

A two-out pinch-hit single by Carlos Ruiz off Sammy Solis put the Dodgers ahead and Justin Turner's two-run triple extended it to 4–1.

[46] This record would be passed just two years later in Game 4 of the 2018 American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros, which took 4 hours and 33 minutes to complete.

In the series, former Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick would hit the grand-slam that put Washington ahead on the road in extra-innings of Game 5.