The1981National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of theNational League playoffs of the1981 MLB Postseason which began on Tuesday, October 6, and ended on Sunday, October 11. The Division Series was created on August 6 in response to the1981 Major League Baseball strike, which caused the cancellation of roughly one-third of the regular season between June 12 and August 9; by the time play was resumed, it was decided that the best approach was to have the first-half leaders automatically qualify for postseason play, and allow all the teams to begin the second half with a clean slate. The series were best-of-five games.

TheMontreal Expos defeated thePhiladelphia Phillies while theLos Angeles Dodgers defeated theHouston Astros to advance to theNational League Championship Series.

The first half and second-half champions in both theNational League East andNational League West divisions played each other in best-of-five series, with the winners advancing to theNL Championship Series (NLCS). If the same team had won both halves, awild card team – the second-place team from both halves combined – would qualify for the postseason,^[1] but this proved unnecessary in both leagues. There were no plans to continue the format in later seasons, although the Division Series returned in1995 on a permanent basis after MLB realigned to three divisions in each league. The teams in the 1981 NLDS were:

• East Division:Philadelphia Phillies (first-half champion, 34–21) vs.Montreal Expos (second-half champion, 30–23): Expos win series, 3–2.
• West Division:Los Angeles Dodgers (first-half champion, 36–21) vs.Houston Astros (second-half champion, 33–20): Dodgers win series, 3–2.

The second-half champions played the first two games at home, with the first-half champions hosting all remaining games; this was predetermined in August, independent of team records.^[1] Had a team won both halves of the season, they would have hosted all games of the series other than the first game, which the wild card team would host.^[1]

The results of the format were highly controversial, as theCincinnati Reds failed to qualify for the postseason despite having the best record in baseball (66–42) over the full season;^[2] theSt. Louis Cardinals, with the NL's second-best record (59–43), were also left out.^[3] The Reds had finished the first half of the season just a half-game behind the Dodgers, while the Cardinals finished the second half just a half-game behind the Expos,^[4] who were making their first postseason appearance after 13 years of play.

Both series went the full five games. The home team won every game in both series save for one: Game 5 of the East Division series, which Montreal won 3–0 at Philadelphia'sVeterans Stadium. The Dodgers and Expos went on to meet in the NL Championship Series. The Dodgers became the National League champion, and defeated theAmerican League championNew York Yankees in the1981 World Series.

Los Angeles won the series, 3–2.

Montreal won the series, 3–2.

Fernando Valenzuela facedNolan Ryan, a matchup worthy of a pitcher's duel. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth.Tony Scott singled homeTerry Puhl to score the game's first run, butSteve Garvey tied the game with a home run in the top of the seventh. The score was still 1–1 in the bottom of the ninth.Dave Stewart retired the first two men, butCraig Reynolds singled andAlan Ashby slugged a two-run walk-off home run. It was the first postseason walkoff home run in Astros history.^[18]

Jerry Reuss was pitted againstJoe Niekro. Both pitchers kept the game scoreless, but both teams had trouble scoring runs when they managed to get men on. Reuss pitched nine innings and Niekro eight. It remained scoreless until the bottom of the 11th. Dave Stewart was brought in once again, although having lost the last game. He surrendered back-to-back singles to open the inning. He was taken out and the bases were loaded thanks to an intentional walk toCésar Cedeño. The bullpen had managed to get two outs but pinch hitterDenny Walling hit the game winner, a single to right field.

Houston was now one win away from winning their first postseason series and moving one step closer to the franchise's first pennant. However,Burt Hooton was there to stop the streaking Astros againstBob Knepper. Hooton held the Astros to three hits over seven innings and the bullpen held them to no hits through the last two innings. After an RBI double byDusty Baker, Steve Garvey hit a two-run homer to make it 3–0 in the bottom of the first.Art Howe would drive the only run of the game for the Astros by hitting a leadoff home run in the third. The Dodgers would add insurance in the eighth. With two on and one out off ofJoe Sambito,Bill Russell's RBI single,Reggie Smith's sacrifice fly, andKen Landreaux's RBI single extended their lead to 6–1.Bob Welch pitched a scoreless ninth to keep the Dodgers in the series.

Fernando Valenzuela took the hill for the Dodgers once again, this time againstVern Ruhle. Both pitchers pitched complete games for their respective teams in a duel that saw each team combine for two hits with runners in scoring position. Eventual World Series co-MVPPedro Guerrero got the Dodgers on the board first with a homer in the bottom of the fifth.Bill Russell drove in the second run for Los Angeles in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single. In the top of the ninth inning,Terry Puhl hit a one-out double. With two out,Tony Scott hit a single to let that scored Puhl and brought upJosé Cruz. A few pitches later, Cruz popped up a flyball to the catcher to end the game.^[19]

Nolan Ryan was brought in on clinching day to win the Astros their first postseason series. Opposing him would beJerry Reuss, who had pitched so well in Game 2. The sixth proved disastrous for Ryan. He drew a leadoff flyout beforeDusty Baker managed to get a walk to first base andSteve Garvey advanced him to third on a single.Rick Monday broke the tie with a single to right field. A batter later,Mike Scioscia hit a single to score Garvey before Bill Russell hit a ground ball to third that went past the first baseman on the throw that got Monday to score. Ryan was pulled for a pinch hitter in the following inning.^[20] A two-out triple by Steve Garvey made it 4–0 Dodgers in the seventh. In the end, Reuss went the distance again and pitched a brilliant five-hit shutout to put the Dodgers in the1981 National League Championship Series. In addition, the Dodgers avenged their loss to the Astrosthe previous year in aone-game playoff for the NL West title.

1981 NLDS(3–2):Los Angeles Dodgers overHouston Astros

In the other division series, the first MLB postseason game in Canada (and outside of the United States) featured the Expos in their playoff debut against the defending World Champions, the Philadelphia Phillies.Steve Rogers facedSteve Carlton in Game 1 in Montreal. AGary Carter double scored the first Expo run in postseason history in the first.Keith Moreland homered to lead off the second, tying the game. In the bottom of the second inning,Chris Speier hit a double, driving inTim Wallach to put the Expos in the lead for the remainder of the game.Warren Cromartie doubled in the fourth to drive in Speier for the final Expo run of the game. Rogers pitched8+2⁄3 innings, giving up ten hits and one run.Jeff Reardon got the final out and the save. This was the Expos' first postseason victory.

Dick Ruthven started the game for Philadelphia against Montreal'sBill Gullickson.Chris Speier's RBI single in the second, followed by a two-run homer in the third byGary Carter resulted in a 3–0 lead for the Expos. Gullickson allowed only one run – onPete Rose's RBI single in the eighth after a two-out double byLonnie Smith – and six hits in7+2⁄3 innings.Jeff Reardon got the save for the second consecutive game.

Ray Burris started for the Expos against the Phillies'Larry Christenson. In the second, Chris Speier hit an RBI single to give the Expos an initial lead.Manny Trillo's two-run single in the bottom of the second put the Phillies ahead 2–1. Two more RBI singles made it 4–1 in the sixth. Two more runs for the Phillies in the seventh gave them six for the night. The Expos would score a second run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh, resulting in a final 6–2 score.

Arguably the best game of the series took place in Game 4.Scott Sanderson started againstDickie Noles. The Phillies jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the first on a two-run homer byMike Schmidt.Keith Moreland's two-run single made it 4–0 in the third.Gary Carter homered to lead off the fourth to make it 4–1. AJerry White sacrifice fly made it 4–2 in the fifth. The Expos tied the game in the top of the sixth inning withJohn Milner driving inLarry Parrish with a single, andWallace Johnson subsequently driving inChris Speier with a single.Gary Matthews homer for the Phillies in the bottom of the sixth, regaining the lead. Gary Carter doubled to tie the game again in the seventh. In the bottom of the tenth,George Vukovich hit a leadoff homer offJeff Reardon to win the game, tying the series at two games apiece.

In Game 5, the defending champions sent their best,Steve Carlton, to the mound againstSteve Rogers. Both pitchers kept the game scoreless through four innings. A single and two walks in the top of the fifth loaded the bases for Rogers. In what proved to be the series-winning hit, Rogers singled to center, scoringLarry Parrish andChris Speier. An RBI double by Parrish in the sixth made it 3–0. That would be all Rogers would need: he allowed only six hits and one walk in a complete-game shutout of the defending world champions. His brilliance led the Expos to the NLCS and their first postseason series win.

1981 NLDS(3–2):Montreal Expos overPhiladelphia Phillies

• Wolf, Gregory H. (2017)."October 6, 1981: Alan Ashby's walk-off homer in ninth preserves Ryan's two-hitter in NLDS opener".SABR. RetrievedOctober 5, 2019.
• Riis, Richard (2017)."October 7, 1981: Denny Walling's walk-off single in 11th sends Astros to win in Game 2".SABR. RetrievedOctober 5, 2019.
• Belleville, Gary."October 7, 1981: Expos win first MLB postseason game played outside U.S."SABR. RetrievedOctober 5, 2019.
• King, Norm (2016)."October 11, 1981: Steve Rogers leads Expos to NLCS".SABR. RetrievedOctober 5, 2019.

• LAD vs. HOU at Baseball-Reference
• MON vs. PHI at Baseball-Reference

• National League Division Series
• 1981 Major League Baseball season
• Los Angeles Dodgers postseason
• Montreal Expos postseason
• Philadelphia Phillies postseason
• Houston Astros postseason
• 1981 in Montreal
• 1981 in sports in Quebec
• 1981 in sports in California
• 1981 in sports in Pennsylvania
• 1981 in sports in Texas
• 1981 in Houston
• 1981 in Los Angeles
• 1981 in Philadelphia
• October 1981 sports events in Canada
• October 1981 sports events in the United States

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