The direction of two LDS turned on a dime in the ninth inning of Game 2.

On Thursday night, the St. Louis Cardinals were one out from going home with a split of the first two games in Los Angeles. The Cardinals led the Dodgers, 2-1 with two outs in the ninth, when Matt Holliday lost James Loney’s sinking liner in the lights. Loney reached second base, and the Dodgers had two men on after Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin walked Casey Blake. Ronnie Belliard singled up the middle to tie the game, and pinch-hitter Mark Loretta fisted the game-winning hit into short center to secure a 3-2 victory and a two-game edge in the best-of-five NLDS.

The following night, the Minnesota Twins were within three outs of a 3-1 victory that would have sent them home to that visitor’s nightmare, the Metrodome, with a split at Yankee Stadium. Twins closer Joe Nathan, dependable all season long, struggled with command and gave up a game-tying home run to Alex Rodriguez in the ninth. Two innings later, Yankees first Mark Teixeira drilled a leadoff home run off Jose Mijares to put New York up two games to none.

The difference between going home with a split -- with two of the last three games at home -- and being on the brink of elimination can be a fine one. And with the five-game LDS, a team’s fate can be all but sealed in the second game.

There’s something wrong with teams playing a six-month marathon, and then having a successful season on the brink in just two playoff games. Contenders lose two in a row numerous times over the course of the season, and two off days shouldn’t doom a team in October. It’s the kiss of death to open the postseason with two losses under the current LDS format.

Major League Baseball came to its senses when it made the best-of-five LCS a best-of-seven affair in 1985, yet it adopted the best-of-five LDS when the wild-card berth was added.

Television controls the postseason schedule, and programming considerations give us all kinds of extra days off that aren’t necessary. Those off days should be used to give teams and fans a best-of-seven LDS. The best-of-five format undercuts what a team has earned over the grind of a six-month season.