The 1981 Expos
Part 5: The NLCS
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| Expos' left fielder Tim Raines |
After a thrilling five-game
series against the Phillies, the Montreal Expos had only one day off before the
National League Championship Series would begin at Dodger Stadium in Los
Angeles. The first two games of the series would be played in LA, while the
last three (if all were necessary) would be played at the Olympic Stadium in
Montreal.
The Dodgers were no strangers to
postseason, either, but unlike Philadelphia, Los Angeles had not had much
success in the playoffs with their lineup. Led by hitters Steve Garvey, Dusty
Baker, Bill Russell and Davey Lopes, and pitchers Fernando Valenzuela (a
rookie), Burt Hooten and Bob Welch, the Dodgers had lost the World Series in
1977 and 1978 to the Yankees. In 1980, they had finished tied with the Houston
Astros for the N.L. West title, and had lost the sudden-death playoff game.
They were a team that was looking for some redemption.
After pitching the
NLDS-clinching game against Philadelphia, Expos’ ace Steve Rogers would not be
available until the third game in Montreal. For Game 1, Bill Gullickson would
pitch for the Expos while Burt Hooten would go for the Dodgers. Los Angeles won
rather easily, by a 5-1 score. Montreal’s only run was scored in the top of the
ninth on back-to-back doubles by Gary Carter and Larry Parrish.
Hoping to avoid going to back to
the Olympic Stadium down two games, Montreal turned to pitcher Ray Burris for
Game 2. Valenzuela would counter for LA. While the Dodger left-hander had been
phenomenal all throughout the 1981 season, Burris would outpitch him on this
day. The Montreal hurler pitched a complete game shutout as the Expos won, 3-0,
all three runs coming against Valenzuela.
They would score two in the
second on an RBI double by Warren Cromartie and an RBI single by Tim Raines, and
add their third in the sixth on an RBI single by Gary Carter. The series was
tied headed back to Montreal.
And the Expos had Steve Rogers
for the third game. After his brilliance of the NLDS, the Montreal fans were
eagerly anticipating their ace to have his best stuff against the Dodgers, and
they would see their team take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in
the top of the fourth on an RBI ground out by Ron Cey. But the Expos exploded
for four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Larry Parrish tied the game with a
single, and then second baseman Jerry White—who hadn’t homered all year—belted
a three-run shot to give Montreal a 4-1 lead. The score would hold up and the
Expos were only one win away from a trip to the World Series.
But the trip would have to wait
as the Dodgers pounded Montreal in the fourth game by a score of 7-1.
Gullickson started on the hill for the Expos and was the hard-luck loser. He
only surrendered three of the runs, but a four-run ninth for LA ended any hopes
for a comeback.
Game 5 was scheduled for a
Sunday afternoon, but the weather was so miserable in Montreal (very cold and
snowing) that the game was postponed until the following day. This was back
when there was no tarp being used as a make shift roof for the Olympic Stadium
and the park was an outdoor facility.
Monday’s weather was not much warmer, but at least it wasn’t snowing.
The cold, grey sky gave an ominous overtone for the game, but with the day off
after Game 4, Montreal fans knew that their ace, Steve Rogers, would be
available—if necessary—to come out of the bullpen. Rogers had been magnificent
in the postseason, but didn’t have sufficient rest to be the starter. That duty
would fall upon Ray Burris, who had been brilliant in Game 2 in beating
Valenzuela. The two would square off again.
In the bottom of the first, Tim Raines led off with a double. Rodney
Scott then tried to drop a sacrifice bunt to move Raines to third. But Scott
ended up being safe at first. Two runners on and none out with Andre Dawson
coming up. The Hawk had a chance to put his mark on the game and maybe drive
Valenzuela out early. But Dawson hit into a double play and even though Raines
scored to give Montreal a 1-0 lead, the rally was pretty much over.
Burris made it through the first
four innings shutting out the Dodgers, but they got to him in the fifth. With
runners on second and third and one out, Valenzuela hit a slow ground ball to
second. He was out, but the ball was hit slowly enough that there was no play
at the plate and the runner from third scored, tying the game at one. From here
on, it was a great pitching performance by both teams.
Neither team scored in the sixth, seventh or eighth. In the bottom of
the eighth, Expos’ manager Jim Fanning had sent a pinch-hitter to bat for
Burris meaning the right-hander was out of the game. For the top of the ninth,
Fanning sent Rogers to face Los Angeles. In 26 2/3 innings in the playoffs thus
far, Rogers had only given up two runs. He was the logical choice to pitch the
ninth.
The first batter was Steve Garvey and Rogers got him to pop out to
second. Next up was Ron Cey and he flew out to left. One more out and the Expos
would have a chance to win it in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth.
The batter was Rick Monday. The left-hander worked the count to his
favour: three balls and one strike. The next pitch was one that Expos’ fans
would lament for the rest of the franchise’s existence. Monday swung and drove
a high fly ball to right centre field. As the crowd quieted, they, Rogers and
the entire Expo team watched in disbelief as Monday’s fly ball cleared the
wall. The Dodger bench erupted in celebration as they took a 2-1 lead.
Still, the Expos had one more chance as, with two out in the bottom of
the ninth, Valenzuela walked two batters, putting the tying run in scoring
position. Dodger manager, Tommy Lasorda, brought in Bob Welch to face Jerry
White. The Montreal batter hit a weak ground ball to second. An easy throw over
to first and it was all over. Montreal had come so close, but had failed to
advance to the World Series.
They would never get another chance. This 1981 team would soon be
disbanded as salary demands and free agency would see players like Carter,
Dawson and Reardon join other clubs several years later. And when a new team
was put together that looked set to make the playoffs and make a serious run at
the World Series, another player’s strike ended that chance. The Montreal Expos
would never see the postseason again.
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