[hillm2ca]

Game 1:
1962 Mets 0
1981 Toronto Blue Jays 1

Game 1 featured an epic pitching duel between Jays' starter Dave Stieb and Mets' hurler Al Jackson. Stieb carried a no-hitter into the fifth before surrendering a single to Mets' 2B Charlie Neal and would go on to pitch 8 1/3 innings, allowing only 4 hits while striking out 10 before yielding to Joey McLaughlin who finished the game while earning the save. Meanwhile, Jackson took a very tough loss as he threw a complete game through 8 innings while striking out 8.

John Mayberry's 459-foot solo HR in the 1st inning would account for the only scoring in the series' opening game at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

Game 2:

1962 Mets 8
1981 Blue Jays 5

Whatever offense was lacking in Game 1 was more than compensated for in this contest as both the Mets and the Blue Jays combined for 29 hits and 6 HR's.

Damaso Garcia hit a lead off HR in the 1st off of Mets' starter Roger Craig and the lead would hold for the Blue Jays before Choo Coleman 2-run bomb off of Luis Leal would give the Mets a 2-1 lead. John Mayberry would connect with his second HR of the series in the 4th to tie the score. Otto Velez would follow Mayberry with another home run in the same inning to give the Jays the 4-3 lead.

The Mets would put together a big inning in the 5th, led by Choo Choo Coleman's 2 RBI single to give the Mets the lead 5-4 and sending Leal to the showers. Jim Marshall would follow with another RBI single to make it 6-4. Meanwhile, Lloyd Moseby would hit a solo HR for the Blue Jays to make it 6-5.

The Mets would go on to score two more runs on RBI singles by Jim Hickman and Elion Chacon in the ninth, closing out the victory for the Mets 8-5. Roger Craig would get the win but the Mets would go to the bullpen seven times in this contest in order to seal the victory.

Game 3:

1981 Blue Jays 4
1962 Mets 8

Buck Martinez's pinch-hit HR in the 9th would bring the Jays closer to a comeback at the Polo Grounds in Game 3, but ultimately the Mets would prevail as they held on to an 8-4 victory.

Charlie Neal, Jim Hickman, and Choo Coleman would each net two hits a piece for the Mets while John Mayberry would connect for his third home run in as many games.

Game 4:

1981 Blue Jays 5
1962 Mets 8

The Blue Jays were unable to hold a lead at the Polo Grounds in Game 4 and fell to the Mets 8-5. Lloyd Moseby launched a 3-run HR in the first with the Jays adding to their lead with 2 more runs in the 4th to make it 5-1.

The Mets would storm back with 2 runs in the fourth and 2 more in the fifth to tie the score. But, it was Frank J. Thomas's 2-run double in the 6th off of Jays' reliever Nino Espinosa that would be the deciding factor in the Mets victory followed by an RBI single by Jim Hickman later in the game.

Game 5:

1981 Blue Jays 0
1962 Mets 3

Al Jackson got his revenge after taking a heartbreaking loss in Game 1, going 8 innings in the victory while striking out 11 Blue Jays' hitters. The Mets offense was all about Marv Throneberry who accounted for all of the Mets scoring, delivery an infield RBI single in the 1st, followed by solo HR's in the 3rd and 7th innings off of Jays' starter Jim Clancy.

The Jays, meanwhile, missed out on some early scoring opportunities by loading the bases in the 1st and 4th innings but were not able to benefit from any kind of clutch hitting.

General Notes:

Mets' 2B Charlie Neal would earn series MVP honors, going 11 for 18 (.611) and netting 5 RBIs...Choo Choo Coleman of the Mets delivered 6 RBIs for the Mets in the series...Blue Jays' starter Dave Stieb would go 1-0 in two appearances, taking a no-decision in game 4 but, meanwhile, garnering 17 K's in 13 IP...Mets' starter Al Jackson would put up 19 K's in 16 IP while going 1-1 in the series...John Mayberry of the Blue Jays hit 3 HR while going 6-20 (.300)...Danny Ainge did not play in the series, having only been activated prior to Game 5 along with George Bell who also did not play.

The 1962 Mets will go on to Round 2!