The winner-take-all battles in the Brewers' postseason history have almost all been thrillers

Before Thursday, the Milwaukee Brewers had played six winner-take-all postseason games – games in which the winner advances (or wins a World Series) while the loser's season is over.

Milwaukee has had two wins in such situations, and almost each time it has been close.

Here's how the first six in Brewers history went:

1981: Yankees 7, Brewers 3 (American League Division Series)

The 1981 strike-split season resulted in a strange postseason format that we now consider to be fairly common, and allowed the Brewers their first playoff appearance. The American League East's second-half champions, the Brewers, fell behind the first-half champions, the New York Yankees, 2-0, then rallied for a pair of wins at Yankee Stadium to force a decisive Game 5 .

Cecil Cooper's two-out single in the seventh – he would have another like that in another game on this list – scored Robin Yount and brought Milwaukee to 4-3, but Rick Cerone's two-run home run in the bottom half tied New from York's leadership. Then came the cruelest development – with two runners on in the eighth against Goose Gossage, Don Money hit a long fly ball to left field that looked like it would be a go-ahead home run.

But in the final it landed safely in Dave Winfield's glove. New York managed two insurance runs in the eighth, and the Brewers went 1-2-3 in the ninth. The Yankees lost the World Series in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

1982: Brewers 4, Angels 3 (American League Championship Series)

You know about it.

One of the greatest moments in Wisconsin sports history came in the seventh when Cooper's two-out single scored two runs and turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. The Brewers held on from there, with Pete Ladd winning the final over Hall of Famer Rod Carew, sending the Brewers to their first and only World Series.

As in 1981, the Brewers lost the series 2-0 and fought their way back to a draw, but this time at home. And in the last game, Milwaukee prevailed.

The Brewers, of course, lost in the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Because it was a regular season game, we're not counting Milwaukee's finale against the Baltimore Orioles, where the winner went to the playoffs and the loser stayed home, but it was essentially a playoff battle in its own right.

1982: Cardinals 6, Brewers 3 (World Series)

The Brewers took a 3-1 lead on Paul Molitor's single and Cooper's sacrifice fly in the sixth, but everyone knows how the story ends. Keith Hernandez and George Hendrick drove in three runs in back-to-back plate appearances to give St. Louis a 4-3 lead, and the Cardinals added more runs in the eighth to clinch the World Series title secure. Darrell Porter, who first entered the big leagues as a Brewer, had one of the latter hits on his way to becoming World Series MVP.

2011: Brewers 3, Diamondbacks 2 (National League Division Series)

Nyjer Morgan, the colorful outfielder whose alter ego “Tony Plush” helped make him a Milwaukee phenom, had been acquired from Washington shortly before the start of the season. It's a deal that now lasts forever. His single back in the middle in the 10th inning against JJ Putz allowed Carlos Gomez to score a walk-off win from second with the winning run, winning the series and sending the Brewers to the NLCS against St. Louis send.

2018: Dodgers 5, Brewers 1 (National League Championship Series)

At the climax of their first World Series since 1982, the Brewers took an early 1-0 lead on a Christian Yelich home run, but Cody Bellinger countered quickly in the second to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. And that was essentially it. Yasiel Puig hit a three-run home run up the middle in the sixth to take some of the drama away, and the Brewers were limited to one run on seven hits.

The Dodgers lost to the Boston Red Sox four games to one in the World Series.

2019: Nationals 4, Brewers 3 (National League Wild Card Game)

Before the current playoff format, there was only one wild card series in each league with a one-game playoff, and Milwaukee was in a good position with a 3-0 lead over the host Nationals. The score was 3-1 in the eighth when Brewers bullpen ace Josh Hader was on the mound…and disaster struck.

Michael A. Taylor got first base on a hit-by-pitch that appeared to hit the bottom of his bat first, Ryan Zimmerman hit a bloop single to center with two outs, and Anthony Rendon walked to load the bases . Juan Soto's foray to right was supposed to score at least one run, probably two, but that turned into three when it leaked under the glove of right fielder Trent Grisham. The Brewers failed to score in the ninth and Washington rode the momentum of the thrilling victory to the World Series title.

This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Brewers have already participated in six winner-take-all postseason battles