The 2016 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams in the 2016 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners (seeded 1-3) and a fourth team—the winner of a one-game Wild Card playoff— played in two series. FS1 and MLB Network carried all the games in the United States.

These matchups were:

The higher seeded team in each series hosted Games 1, 2, and 5 (if necessary), and the lower seeded team hosted Games 3 and 4 (if necessary).

This was the second postseason meeting between the Dodgers and the Nationals franchise. Their most recent meeting was in the 1981 National League Championship Series, in which the Dodgers won the National League pennant over the then-Montreal Expos in five games. The Dodgers defeated the Nationals in five games and reached the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2013.

The Cubs and Giants also met for the second time in postseason play after the Giants defeated the New York Mets 3–0 in the National League Wild Card Game. Their last meeting was in the 1989 National League Championship Series, which the Giants won in five games. However, they did meet in a Wild Card tiebreaker in 1998 where the Cubs advanced, beating the Giants 5–3. The Cubs won the Division Series three games to one and advanced to the NLCS for the second consecutive year.

Chicago won the series, 3–1.

Los Angeles won the series, 3–2.

The Cubs began postseason play with starter Jon Lester on the mound facing Johnny Cueto for the Wild Card Game-winning Giants. In the pitching duel, Lester scattered five hits in eight innings of work, shutting out the Giants. Cueto also blanked the Cubs allowing only two hits prior to the eighth inning. In the eighth, Javier Baez hit a solo home run into the left field basket to put the Cubs up 1–0. Aroldis Chapman appeared for the save in the ninth and gave up a double to Buster Posey, but shut the Giants down as the Cubs took a 1–0 series lead.

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