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

Before Thursday, the Milwaukee Brewers have played six winner-take-all postseason games — that is, games where the winner advances (or wins a World Series), while the loser's season is over.

Milwaukee has two wins in those situations, and nearly every single occasion has been tight.

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

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

The strike-split 1981 season created a strange postseason format, one that we consider somewhat common now, and it allowed the Brewers to make their first playoff appearance. The American League East second-half champion Brewers fell behind the first-half champion New York Yankees, 2-0, then rallied back for two wins at Yankee Stadium to force a decisive Game 5.

Cecil Cooper's two-out single in the seventh — he'd have another one of those in a different game on this list — scored Robin Yount to pull Milwaukee within 4-3, but Rick Cerone's two-run homer in the bottom half replenished New York's lead. 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 might be a go-ahead homer.

But it fell safely in Dave Winfield's glove for the final out. New York tacked on two insurance runs in their eighth, and the Brewers went 1-2-3 in the ninth. The Yankees went on to lose the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

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

You know about this one.

One of the great 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 getting the final out against Hall of Famer Rod Carew that sent the Brewers to their first and only World Series.

Like in 1981, the Brewers went down in the series, 2-0, and battled back to tie, but this time at home. And in the final game, Milwaukee came through.

The Brewers, of course, went on to lose to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

Since it was a regular-season game, we're not counting Milwaukee's finale against the Baltimore Orioles, in which 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 over back-to-back plate appearances to give St. Louis a 4-3 edge, and the Cardinals added insurance runs in the eighth to pull away for the World Series championship. Darrell Porter, who first arrived in the big leagues as a Brewer, had one of the latter hits on his way to being maned the World Series MVP.

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

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

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

On the cusp of their first World Series since 1982, the Brewers got an early 1-0 lead on a home run from Christian Yelich, but Cody Bellinger quickly answered in the top of the second to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. And that was it, essentially. Yasiel Puig hit a three-run homer to center in the sixth to remove some of the drama, and the Brewers were limited to one run on seven hits.

The Dodgers went on to fall to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, four games to one.

2019: Nationals 4, Brewers 3 (National League wild-card game)

Before the current playoff format, there was only one wild-card series per league, featuring a one-game playoff, and Milwaukee found itself in good position by taking a 3-0 lead on the host Nationals. It was 3-1 in the eighth with Brewers bullpen ace Josh Hader on the mound ... and disaster struck.

Michael A. Taylor was awarded 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 drive to right was destined to score at least one run and probably two, but it became three when it trickled under the glove of right fielder Trent Grisham. The Brewers couldn't score in the ninth, and Washington rode the momentum of the thrilling win all the way to the World Series title.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The winner-take-all battles in Brewers postseason history have almost all been thrillers