Round 2 - Tier B - Expos sweep Phightin's to win NL B-Pennant

10/16/1981 - GAME 1 - Stade Olympique
Carlton vs Rogers
Expos 5, Phillies 1

Jerry White's solo shot in the bottom of the 5th broke a scoreless tie and put the Expos up 1-0.  With both aces on top of their game this one run loomed large.  Then in the bottom of the 7th Montreal put it all together.  Andre Dawson (3 for 4) singled and stole second, then moved to third on Gary Carter's ground out to second.  Larry Parrish was given an intentional pass and Jerry White struck out for the second out.  Chris Speier was given an intentional pass forcing the Expos into making a decisions.  Should they stick with Steve Rogers, who already threw 104 pitches and had a shutout going ?  Or go with a pinch hitter in an attempt to some much needed insurance runs.  Montreal chose the latter and late season call up Dave Hostetler delivered the goods with a 2 out / 2 run single to make it 3-0.  Tim Raines followed with a slow roller to third that Schmidt airmailed into rightfield, because he was forced by Raines' speed to rush his throw.  This made it 4-0.  Dawson hit a solo shot in the 8th to make it 5-1 and Jeff Reardon pitched the final 2 innings in relief to get the save as Montreal drew first blood.
Expos lead series 1-0

10/17 - GAME 2
Ruthven vs Sanderson
Expos 5, Phillies 2

After giving up runs in both the first and second innings, Dick Ruthven finally looked like he was going to settle down.  Then out of nowhere he pulled a rib cage muscle on a play where he was called for a balk.  After Tim Raines (3 for 3 with a walk) singled and began threatening to steal, Ruthven threw over to first numerous times.  Raines distracted him enough to balk and hurt himself.  1977 AL Cy Young winner Sparky Lyle was forced to step in and replace the injured Ruthven.  Lyle would get out of the jam that he was handed without any damage, but he was victimized by 2 unearned runs in the bottom of the 5th.  Pete Rose's sac fly in the 6th made it a 5-2 game.  Andre Dawson answered back with a sac fly of his own an inning later to make it 5-2, which is how it ended.  Expo starter Scott Sanderson went 8 innings allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits.  Elias Sosa pitched a scoreless 9th to get the save
Expos lead series 2-0

10/19 - GAME 3 - Veterans Stadium
Gullickson vs Christenson
Expos 8, Phillies 4

Montreal opened the scoring in the top of the 1st with a Tim Raines manufactured run.  "The Rock" led off with a single to right and proceeded to steal both 2nd and 3rd before scoring on a Rodney Scott bloop single.  The Phightin's, with their backs to the wall, scored 2 in each of the first 2 innings to take a 4-1 lead.  Four consecutive singles in the bottom of the first (Bowa, Rose, Schmidt & Matthews) were responsible for the first 2 runs.  An RBI ground out by Larry Bowa and an RBI double by Rose plated the next two runs.  Gullickson was on the ropes.  A visit to the mound by his manager and the appearance of Sosa in the pen served as a warning to the righthander that he better get it solved and quick.  Montreal got Gullickson back in the game with 3 huge runs in the top of the 3rd off the bat of MVP candidate Andre "Hawk" Dawson, who hit a 3 run blast.  Hawk's would go 1 for 2 on the day along with 3 walks.  Philly pitchers wanted no part of the Expos 5 tool star.  WIth the game tied and his warning heeded well, Gullickson settled down and did not yield a run the rest of the way.  However, Christenson and his replacement Larson allowed 4 runs combined to put the Expos up 8-4.  Lefties Woodie Fryman and Tom Gorman combined to get the final outs as the Phillies went out like a lamb.  The top of the Expos order (Raines/Scott) combined for a 6 for 9 day, with Raines scoring 3 runs and Rodney Scott knocking in 4.  This series sweep punches Montreal's ticket to the Tier B World Series where they will face the winner of the Orioles / Rangers ALCS.
Expos win series 3-0