The 1981 Expos
Part 4: The NLDS
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| Montreal ace Steve Rogers |
After a split season due to the
MLBPA’s strike, the Montreal Expos would face the Philadelphia Phillies in the
first NLDS series to decide the National League East champion (the Los Angeles
Dodgers would face the Houston Astros in the N.L. West version of the NLDS).
The Phillies had been in first place prior to the work stoppage and the Expos
had finished atop the division in the second half.
For the Phillies, it was old
hat. They had survived the pressure of the postseason and had won the World
Series in 1980. Along the way, they had beaten the Expos for the division title
on the second last day of the season, took care of the Astros in five games in
the NLCS (the LCS were best-of-five series back then) and then defeated the
Kansas City Royals in the World Series. The Phillies were led by Pete Rose,
Gary Matthews, Larry Bowa and Mike Schmidt on offense, and had a pitching staff
that included Steve Carlton, Larry Christenson and closer Tug McGraw.
For the young Expos, they would
depend on outfielders Andre Dawson and Tim Raines, first baseman Warren
Cromartie, third baseman Larry Parrish and catcher Gary Carter. Steve Rogers
was the ace of their pitching staff with Jeff Reardon as the shutdown reliever.
The first two games were
scheduled to be played in the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. It was important
that the Expos got off to a good start in the series as the last three games
would be played in Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
Game 1 was a battle of the
team’s aces as Carlton went head-to-head with Rogers to open the playoffs. The
Montreal right-hander would allow ten hits in 8 2/3 innings pitched, but the
only run he allowed was a solo homer to Mitch Moreland leading off the second
inning. The Expos, meanwhile, had already scored their first run in their first
at bat when Carter doubled in Jerry White.
The Expos would score again in
the bottom of the second to take the lead when a double by shortstop Chris
Speier plated right-fielder Tim Wallach. And it would be another RBI double by
Cromartie—this time in the fourth inning—that scored Speier to give Montreal a
3-1 lead.
That was all the scoring that
would happen in the game. After Rogers surrendered two singles with two out in
the ninth, Reardon came into the game and got the final out to preserve the
win. Montreal took the game 3-1 and led the NLDS one game to none.
The second game in Montreal
would feature another great pitching performance. Bill Gullickson would throw
for the Expos while Philly countered with Dick Ruthven. Montreal would jump out
to a 3-0 lead when Speier singled in Parrish in the second, and Carter hit a
two-run home run in the third. Ruthven only lasted four innings, but the
Phillies relief pitchers would shutout the Expos the rest of the way.
Gullickson would only give up
one run, that coming in the eighth inning when Pete Rose singled in Lonnie
Smith. Reardon would enter the game and record his second save, pitching the
final 1 1/3 innings and Montreal had a 2-0 lead in the series, needing only one
of the three games at the Vet to advance to the National League Championship
Series.
But the Phillies weren’t going
to go quietly. The battle-hardened group of players won the third game by a
score of 6-2 and then tied the series with a 6-5 walk-off win in the fourth
game that needed extra innings. Philadelphia had built a 4-0 lead, but Montreal
would eventually tie the game at five before George Vukovich hit a pinch-hit
home run off of Reardon leading off the bottom of the tenth.
And that brings us to the fifth
and deciding game. The winner would advance to the NLCS to play the Dodgers
while the loser would be left to think about what might have been. It was a
pitching rematch of the first game as Steve Rogers would battle Steve Carlton.
While both teams would threaten at various times in the first four innings, the
game was scoreless going to the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, the
Expos loaded the bases with one out. Pitcher Steve Rogers was at the plate,
looking to help his own cause. He did just that with a single up the middle
that scored Larry Parrish and Chris Speier for a 2-0 lead. The Expos would add
another in the sixth when Parrish doubled in Andre Dawson to make the score
3-0.
While the Expos were putting
runs on the board, Rogers was making life difficult for the Philly hitters. He
would pitch brilliantly, striking out only two batters, and allowing six hits.
The Expos took the 3-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but rather than bring
in the closer, Reardon, to finish the game, Montreal manager Jim Fanning left
Rogers in to finish it himself.
Mike Schmidt was the first
batter for Philadelphia in their last attempt to defend their title, and he
flew out to Dawson in centre. Next up was Gary Matthews and he lined out to
Raines in left. The Phils’ last hope was Manny Trillo, and when his line drive
was snagged by Cromartie at first, it was over. The Expos had won the series,
their first, and would advance to play the Dodgers in the NLCS. While the NLDS
did not have a series MVP like the LCS and World Series, Rogers was clearly the
hero. In his two games, both victories, he threw 17 2/3 innings, allowed 16
hits, and only one run for a 0.51 ERA.
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