The 2012 National League Division Series were two best-of-five game series to determine the participating teams in the 2012 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth team—the winner of a one-game Wild Card playoff—played in two separate series. This series with the Washington Nationals was their first playoff berth since moving to Washington D.C. and the first franchise playoff berth since 1981 when they were the Montreal Expos. TBS carried most of the games, with some on TNT. The Wild Card Game was held on October 5, 2012. The series used the 2–3 format (three consecutive games at home for the team with home field advantage preceded by two consecutive games at home for the other team) for 2012 because Major League Baseball implemented the second wild card slot on March 2, 2012, long after the 2012 regular season schedule had been set, leaving no room for the 2–2–1 format which requires a travel day between Games 4 and 5. The 2–3 format was used for best-of-five Championship Series prior to 1985 and for the Division Series from 1995 to 1997. The matchups for the 2012 NLDS were:

Both series saw the first postseason meetings between the respective clubs and both went to the maximum five games.

St. Louis won the series, 3–2.

San Francisco won the series, 3–2.

3:07 p.m. (EDT) at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri

The series opened on a sunny afternoon in St. Louis, before 47,078 fans watching the Nationals' first playoff game since October 19, 1981, when they were the Montreal Expos. It was the first time a team from Washington D.C. played in a postseason contest since the 1933 World Series, when the Washington Senators lost to the Giants.

...
Wikipedia