18. 1982 ALCS - Brewers 3, Angels 2
Down 2-0, the Brewers rallied to win all three games at County Stadium.  Trailing 3-2 in the seventh inning of Game Five, the Brewers got a bases-loaded single from Cecil Cooper to score two runs, enough to win the game 4-3 and send Milwaukee to its first and what remains its only World Series in franchise history.

17. 1972 ALCS - Athletics 3, Tigers 2
The last hurrah of both Norm Cash and Al Kaline, who both retired two seasons later without getting back to the playoffs.  In Game One, each had a solo home run, Kaline's coming in the eleventh to put the Tigers ahead.  In the bottom of the inning, though, pinch hitter Gonzalo Marquez singled with men on first and second.  Both runners scored after an error by Kaline in right, and the A's won 3-2.  After Blue Moon Odom threw a three-hit shutout in Game Two, the Tigers rallied at home, winning Games Three and Four.  Joe Coleman's complete game shutout with 14 Ks won Game Three for Detroit, and in Game Four things went to extra innings tied at one.  After Oakland pushed across two in the top of the tenth, the Tigers came alive in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with no outs.  One run scored and the bases remained loaded on an error, and Norm Cash walked to force in the tying run.  Jim Northrup's single drove in Gates Brown to force a Game Five, which was a pitcher's duel - after allowing a run in the first, Blue Moon Odom combined with Vida Blue to allow no runs and just four hits in the next eight innings.  The A's eked out two runs in that span, and were on their way to the World Series.

16. 1985 ALCS - Royals 4, Blue Jays 3
Think the fans in Toronto were happy with the expansion to a best of seven?  The Jays won Games One, Two and Four (the last with three runs in the top of the ninth) and had a commanding 3-1 lead that the previous year would have been good enough for Toronto's first World Series trip.  Instead, one more win was required, but the Jays couldn't get it.  Danny Jackson, who allowed no earned runs in ten LCS innings, threw a complete game shutout in Game Five.  Two runs in the sixth helped Kansas City to a 5-3 win in Game Six, and in Game Seven, the Royals scored four more runs in the sixth inning (they scored nine combined runs in the sixth throughout the series) en route to a 6-2 win and a World Series that would see them make the same comeback from a 3-1 deficit, helped in no small part by Don Denkinger.

15. 1996 NLCS - Braves 4, Cardinals 3
What is most amazing about this series is not that the Braves rallied from a 3-1 deficit but the way in which they did it.  In Game Five, five Cardinals pitchers allowed 22 hits in a 14-0 Braves win.  Two days later back in Atlanta, the Braves got a strong outing from Greg Maddux (the Game Two loser) and won 3-1.  The next night was a bizarre Game Five redux, as the Braves pounded out 17 more hits in a 15-0 win that ranks as the most lopsided margin in a clinching game in postseason history.

14. 1973 ALCS - Athletics 3, Orioles 2
Jim Palmer threw a complete game shutout in the opener, but things would get no better for the Orioles.  The A's took Game Two 6-3 with four home runs from their top three hitters - including Joe Rudi and Sal Bando with back-to-back solo shots in the sixth to go up 3-1, and Bando's two-run shot in the eighth to make the score 5-2 and put the game out of reach.  Heading back to Oakland, the A's won Game Three with power too, as Bert Campaneris' solo shot to lead off the eleventh was just Oakland's fourth hit - but the Orioles only had three and the A's won 2-1.  Even though Palmer was chased in the second inning of Game Four, the Orioles rebounded to win 5-4 with the winning run coming on Bobby Grich's eighth-inning solo homer - but Catfish Hunter fired a complete-game shutout in Game Five, and not even 4.1 innings of two-hit, scoreless relief from Palmer could stop the A's from going to the World Series.

13. 1976 ALCS - Yankees 3, Royals 2
It was the first ALCS and, at the time, just the second postseason series ever to end on a home run - in this case it was Chris Chambliss who sent the Yankees into the World Series.   In three of the five games, the winning team trailed early before rebounding in the middle innings.  It was Chambliss' first postseason series and he hit .524, with 11 hits in 21 at-bats in the five games, as well as two home runs and eight RBI.  It was also something of a coming-out party for George Brett, who in his first postseason series hit .444 with 5 RBI on the heels of his first 200-hit season.

12. 1991 NLCS - Braves 4, Pirates 3
It didn't end in the last at-bat like the 1992 version, but the 1991 NLCS was in many ways a preview of that year's exceedingly competitive Fall Classic.  Four of the games were decided by a single run, including an amazing three finishing with the same 1-0 score - the Braves winning Games Two and Six by that count, and the Pirates taking Game Five by the same total.  The Pirates also won Game Four in Atlanta 3-2 with a run in the top of the tenth.  In Game Seven, series MVP John Smoltz tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout to send the Braves to their first World Series since 1958, when the franchise was still in Milwaukee.

11. 1985 NLCS - Cardinals 4, Dodgers 2
The Dodgers won two games at home to start the series, but the Cardinals took the next four to sweep into the World Series.  Four runs in the first two innings were enough to hold onto a 4-2 win in Game Three, and Game Four saw St. Louis score nine runs in the second en route to a 12-2 romp.  Game Five was tied 2-2 in the ninth when the unlikeliest of power hitters, Ozzie Smith, hit a game-ending home run so surprising that Jack Buck encouraged viewers to "Go crazy!"  Game Six at Dodger Stadium was almost as dramatic - with St. Louis down 5-4, Jack Clark, a much more likely power hitter, smacked a three-run shot in the top of the ninth to lift the Cards to a 7-5 win.

10. 1984 NLCS - Padres 3, Cubs 2
The Cubs were making their first postseason appearance since their last World Series trip in 1945.  After pounding San Diego in Game One, 13-0, and then taking Game Two 4-2, the Cubs were just one win away.  But the series' final three games were in San Diego and the Cubs couldn't get it done.  First they lost Game Three 7-1.  Trailing in Game Four, they tied the score at five in the top of the eighth, only to see Steve Garvey hit a walk-off home run for a 7-5 Padres win.  In Game Five the Cubs took a 3-0 lead after two innings, but managed just two hits over the next seven.  The Padres climbed within a run by plating two on two sac flies in the sixth, and in the seventh Leon Durham, whose first-inning two-run homer might have made him the hero had the Cubs won, became the goat.  After Carmelo Martinez walked, a Durham error allowed him to score on a sacrifice bunt by Garry Templeton.  The next hitter was Tim Flannery, who reached on Durham's second error of the inning and later scored.  The Padres scored four runs in the inning and took a 6-3 lead, winning by that score.

9. 2003 ALCS - Yankees 4, Red Sox 3
The Yankees hit just .227 as a team for the series, but as usual came together when they needed to.  After splitting the first two games in the Bronx, the Yankees took two of three in Boston, then dropped a long Game Six 9-6 to force Game Seven.  The Red Sox had a 5-2 lead in the eighth when Grady Little infamously left Pedro Martinez in too long - long enough for the Yankees to score three runs and tie the game.  Mariano Rivera threw three shutout innings to get the Yankees to the bottom of the eleventh, where Aaron Boone - who had just three hits in the seven games - hit a walk-off, solo shot to become just the fifth man in history to end a postseason series with a home run.

8. 2003 NLCS - Marlins 4, Cubs 3
Just as Red Sox fans saw their torture continued in 2003, the Cubs did as well.  It was worse for the Cubs, however, who actually held a 3-1 series lead after taking the first two games in Florida.  Returning home with a 3-2 lead, the Cubs seemed to have their first World Series trip in 58 years wrapped up when a fan's deflection of a foul ball away from the glove of Moises Alou gave the Marlins another chance and helped open the door to an eight-run eighth innings and an 8-3 win.  The Cubs took a 5-3 lead in the seventh game the next day, but the Marlins came back to win 9-6 and deny the Cubs once again.

7. 1980 NLCS - Phillies 3, Astros 2
The last four games of the series all went extra innings.  The Phillies tied Game Two at three in the bottom of the eighth, only to see the Astros score four runs in the tenth en route to a 7-4 win which tied the series.  The next game was a bagel-fest, which the Astros eventually won 1-0 in the bottom of the eleventh on a Denny Walling sac fly.  The next night, the Phillies evened the series by pushing across two runs in the top of the tenth (after the Astros had tied the game in the bottom of the ninth) for a 5-3 win.  Finally in Game Five, Philadelphia scored five runs in the top of the eighth to go up 7-5, only to see the Astros tie it at 7 in the bottom of the inning.  In the top of the tenth, Garry Maddox doubled home Del Unser, and Dick Ruthven worked his second perfect inning in the bottom of the tenth to deny the Astros.

6. 1986 ALCS - Red Sox 4, Angels 3
After trading blowouts at Fenway Park, the teams headed to Anaheim, where the Angels won Game Three with five runs in their last three innings, and took Game Four in eleven with the winning run scoring on a single by retiring veteran Bobby Grich.  Up 3-1, the Angels seemed a lock for their first World Series - but the next game went eleven innings as well and didn't end the same way for California.  Up 5-2, the Angels used two relievers to try and preserve their lead in the ninth, but Donnie Moore allowed a home run to Dave Henderson that put Boston up 6-5.  What most people probably don't realize is that that home run by no means ended the game - the Angels tied things in the bottom of the inning, only to lose two innings later when a Henderson sac fly scored Don Baylor with the winning run - nor did it end the series.  Returning to Boston, the Red Sox ran away with Games Six and Seven, winning 10-4 and 8-1 over the deflated Angels.

5. 1988 NLCS - Dodgers 4, Mets 3
Also known as the Orel Hershiser show.  The series MVP threw eight shutout innings in Game One only to blow his 2-0 lead in the ninth.  Jay Howell came in and walked Kevin McReynolds, who later scored the winning run on a Gary Carter double.  After the Dodgers won Game Two, Game Three was another misfortune for the LA ace.  Hershiser threw seven innings and left with the score tied at 3; the next innings, the Mets scored five off the Dodger pen and won 8-4.  Game Four went twelve innings, with Kirk Gibson hitting the go-ahead home run in the top of the 12th.  Three Dodgers pitchers got one out apiece in the bottom of the inning, and Hershiser came in to get McReynolds on a pop-up for the final out with the bases loaded.  The Dodgers took Game Five 7-4 and headed home up 3-2, but the Mets won Game Six 5-1 to force a decisive Game Seven.  Returning for his third start and fourth appearance was Hershiser, who left nothing to chance - he threw a complete game five-hitter as the Dodgers won 6-0.  Despite allowing just three earned runs in 24.2 innings, Hershiser was just 1-0 in the series, but was still - rightly - named its Most Valuable Player.

4. 1992 NLCS - Braves 4, Pirates 3
They had played until the end the previous year, but the 1992 NLCS was both the climax and the apex of the brief Braves-Pirates postseason rivalry.  After seizing a 3-1 lead by winning Game Four in Pittsburgh, the Braves dropped Game Five and returned home looking to win in Game Six.  But the Pirates, on the brink of elimination, pushed eight runs across in the second inning en route to a 13-4 pounding.  The next night it looked as if the Pirates were headed for their first World Series since 1979 as Doug Drabek carried a five-hit shutout into the ninth inning with Pittsburgh up 2-0.  Terry Pendleton led off the ninth with a double, and after David Justice reached on an error, Sid Bream walked to load the bases and chase Drabek.  Stan Belinda entered and recorded the first out on a sac fly that brought the Braves within 2-1, then he walked Damon Berryhill to re-load the bases.  After Brian Hunter popped to short for the second out, it fell to Francisco Cabrera, one of just two players left on the Braves' bench (the other was rookie backup catcher Javy Lopez).  Cabrera singled to left, scoring Justice with the tying run, and the slow-footed Bream followed with the winner to send the Braves into their second straight World Series.

3. 2004 NLCS - Cardinals 4, Astros 3
It was overshadowed by another series between storied rivals that you might find if you look a little farther down this list.  But the 2004 NLCS was just about every bit as good as its AL counterpart, if slightly less historic.  Game One featured five home runs between the two teams, but the Cardinals' six-run sixth, which broke a 4-4 tie and provided the eventual winning runs, featured a bases-clearing double and runs scoring on a groundout and an infield single.  After that 10-7 win, the Cardinals took Game Two 6-4 - trailing 3-0 in the fifth, St. Louis got a pair of two-out, two-run homers from Larry Walker and, two batters later, Scott Rolen.  The Astros tied the game in the seventh, but Dan Miceli surrendered a home run to Albert Pujols leading off the St. Louis eighth, and Rolen followed with another solo shot for good measure.  Down 2-0 with the pitching struggling, the Astros looked done, but they had surprises waiting.   Roger Clemens threw seven four-hit innings and Brad Lidge allowed just one hit and one walk - with five Ks - in the final two as the Astros won Game Three 5-2.  They tied the series the next night - the Cardinals led 5-3, but the Astros tied it in the sixth, and an inning later, Carlos Beltran homered off Julian Tavarez for a 6-5 lead, which Brad Lidge again preserved with two almost-perfect innings.  Game Five was a rarity - starters Woody Williams and Brandon Backe went a combined 15 innings and allowed one hit apiece.  With the game still tied at zero in the bottom of the ninth, Beltran singled and stole second.  When Lance Berkman was intentionally walked to the open first base, Jeff Kent blasted a first-pitch laser to deep left that won it for Houston 3-0, in the first walk-off home run to end an NLCS since October 11, 1986.  Not to be outdone, the Cardinals won Game Six two days on a Jim Edmonds two-run walk-off in the twelfth, forcing a Game Seven in St. Louis the next night.  Clemens, so good in Game Three, got the start, and allowed just three hits in the first five innings.  But with Houston clinging to a 2-1 lead in the sixth, Clemens fell apart, allowing a run-scoring double to Pujols to tie the game.  Rolen followed with a two-run homer.  The Astros got no hits and just one baserunner off three St. Louis relievers, and the Cardinals won 5-2 to advance to their first Series since 1987.

2. 1986 NLCS - Mets 4, Astros 2
It only went six, but it started well and ended classic.  Mike Scott came out firing, allowing just five hits in a 1-0 shutout to win Game One for the Astros.  The Mets tied things up in Game Two and then took Game Three 6-5 on a Lenny Dykstra home run in the bottom of the ninth, the last NLCS walk-off homer before this year.  Scott came back in Game Four and allowed one run on three hits in another complete game, and the Astros tied the series at 2.  Unfortunately for Houston, Scott couldn't start every game.   The Mets managed just four hits in Game Five, but one was a Darryl Strawberry solo home run off Nolan Ryan in the fifth, and two more were a Wally Backman single in the twelfth and the Gary Carter single that scored Backman with the winning run.  Because 12 innings is never enough, the two teams flew back to Houston the next day and played 16.  Houston took a 3-0 lead in the first and led all game behind Bob Knepper, until he fell apart in the ninth and allowed the Mets to tie the game.  The Mets pushed across a run in the 14th, but a Billy Hatcher home run tied it up in the bottom of the inning.  In the 16th, the Mets plated three, and though the Astros got two in the bottom of the inning, Kevin Bass struck out with the winning runs on base and the Mets were headed to a World Series that would end up overshadowing both leagues' dramatic LCSes.

1. 2004 ALCS - Red Sox 4, Yankees 3
Well, we all know what happened.  The first three games of the 2004 ALCS weren't just losses for the Boston Red Sox - they were embarrassing.  Boston tried to come back from an 8-0 deficit in Game One but lost 10-7.  In Game Two they couldn't get much off Jon Lieber and lost 3-1.  Back at Fenway, Game Three was tied at six after three, but the Yankees never stopped scoring, and the final was an ugly 19-8.  No team in baseball history had ever won after trailing 3-0.  None had even been able to force a seventh game.  But the Red Sox somehow rebounded.  Down to their last inning in Game Four, the Sox trailed 4-3 with Mariano Rivera - only the most effective reliever in postseason history - on the mound.  But after a leadoff walk and stolen base, Bill Mueller's single right past Rivera scored pinch runner Dave Roberts to send the game to extras, where David Ortiz won it with a walk-off two-run homer in the 12th, 6-4.  The next night, Rivera blew another save (though mostly due to baseball's odd way of scoring relief appearances), and the game went even longer - this time, Ortiz's bloop single off Esteban Loaiza won it in the 14th, 5-4.  Having been roughed up in Game One, a bandaged Curt Schilling threw seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball to give the Sox a 4-2 win and force a Game Seven.  Even that had never been done, but the Red Sox made sure their rendezvous with history was a memorable, as Ortiz hit another two-run shot in the first followed by a Johnny Damon grand slam in the second and another two-run blast in the fourth.  The Red Sox ran away with the game 10-3, as spot starter Derek Lowe's six innings of one-hit ball were more than enough to propel the Sox past their arch-rivals for the first time in three ALCS meetings and into the World Series for the first time since their infamous 1986 collapse.  The series had tons of drama - a near-comeback in Game One, survival and extra-inning heroics in Games Four and Five, gutsy redemption in Game Six, and utter catharsis in Game Seven.  It featured what has to be considered the greatest comeback in professional sports history.  And the Yankees lost, in humiliating fashion.  If that's not the best LCS ever, what is?