The Los Angeles Dodgers are heading back to the National League Championship Series after an extraordinary error from Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering ended his team’s season.
With the scores tied at 1-1 and the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, the Dodgers’ Andy Pages hit a routine grounder to Kerkering. But the 24-year-old fumbled the ball and, instead of going to first for an easy out, he threw it wide of catcher JT Realmuto at home plate as Hyeseong Kim scored the winning run.
“[The ball] just hit off my foot,” Kerkering said. “Once the pressure got to me, I just thought there’s a little faster throw to JT, little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to Bryce [Harper at first].”
The 2-1 win sealed a 3-1 series victory for the Dodgers, who will face either the Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago Cubs for a place in the World Series.
Kerkering slumped in despair after his error and was comforted by manager Rob Thomson.
“He just got caught up in the moment a little bit,” Thomson said. “I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulders.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also had sympathy for a player who had just helped his team advance.
“It’s brutal,” Roberts said of Kerkering’s error. “It’s one of those things that it’s a PFP, a pitcher’s fielding practice. He’s done it a thousand times. And right there he was so focused, I’m sure, on just getting the hitter and just sort of forgot the outs and the situation.”
The Phillies had gifted the defending champions their other run in the seventh when Jhoan Durán walked Mookie Betts with the bases loaded allowing Justin Dean to score. The Phillies had taken the lead at the top of the inning when Max Kepler scored off Nick Castellanos’s double.
It was another frustrating end to a season for the Phillies, who were the No 2 seed in the National League after winning the NL East. Despite an excellent rotation and a strong batting lineup they have lost in the NLDS two years in succession; last year they were eliminated by NL East rivals the New York Mets. They also lost in the 2023 NLCS to the Arizona Diamondbacks, despite at one point holding a 3-2 series lead.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, are into the NLCS for the eighth time in 13 seasons.
