Most amazing National League games of 2016

The 2016 season in Major League Baseball was one of inspiring feats of athleticism, ballparks packed with ecstatic fans and the undeniable drama that comes with America’s pastime. At the end of the 162-game push and an amazing October, one team was standing: the Chicago Cubs, who broke a 108-year championship drought and won the World Series for the National League.

But 14 other NL teams played all season and had their own pinnacle moments. In consultation with each club’s beat reporter, here is the game of the year for each club in the NL in 2016:

• Most amazing American League games of 2016

Braves: 4-3 win on Sept. 21 at New York Mets

The Citi Field crowd was in a frenzy as the Mets’ clutch slugger, Yoenis Cespedes, launched a ninth-inning fly ball that looked like a sure walk-off home run. The drive appeared to end a grind of a game for the Braves, who had fought back from a 3-0 deficit to score four runs in the final three innings. Cespedes launched the ball and … then Ender Inciarte happened.

Just a handful of weeks before winning an NL Gold Glove Award, the Braves’ center fielder leaped at the wall and hauled in the ball to preserve the victory and one of the most memorable catches of the season. Full recap >

Brewers: 7-6 win on Aug. 21 at Seattle

What a 46th birthday present for Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell. His team, far back in the NL Central standings but fighting to the end of the year for its spirited skipper, fell behind, 6-1, through four innings but began to chip away.

Still behind, 6-3, entering the ninth, the Brew Crew had one final rally left. Chris Carter drilled a game-tying two-run homer, and second baseman Scooter Gennett’s RBI single sealed the deal on one unforgettable Sunday afternoon. Full recap >

D-backs: 9-7 win on April 18 at San Francisco

Two outs, two strikes, so what? The D-backs might have struggled through a trying season of rebuilding in the desert, but positive developments emerged throughout the year, and Jake Lamb was one. Down to their last strike, Lamb hit a solo homer off Santiago Casilla to tie it. Then Arizona dug down deep again in the 11th inning, when Jean Segura and Lamb each drove in wins to deliver an improbable victory. Full recap >

Cardinals: 9-3 win on June 10 at Pittsburgh

This one went all the way into the 12th inning before it was decided in wacky and wonderful fashion for the road team. St. Louis was trailing, 2-0, when it scored three times in the eighth inning to take a one-run lead, but that didn’t last long, with Pittsburgh tying it in the ninth. Things stayed deadlocked until the 12th, when Cardinals manager Mike Matheny unveiled a secret weapon in pitcher Adam Wainwright, who pinch-hit with two outs and delivered a go-ahead, two-run double that paced a six-run rally to put a win on ice. Full recap >

Cubs: 8-7 win on Nov. 2 at Cleveland in Game 7 of the World Series

This one needs little explanation, as it’s already firmly in the conversation as one of the best games in postseason history. The Cubs led the Indians for most of the game until Rajai Davis, the speedy but hardly slugging outfielder, went deep off Chicago closer Aroldis …

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