The Phillies’ 2025 season ended in the worst way possible on Thursday night.
Just one out away from navigating out of trouble in the bottom of the 11th inning with the bases loaded and the game tied 1-1, Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering induced a slow roller off the bat of Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages that bounced off of Kerkering’s foot just as Hyeseong Kim scampered home. Kerkering fielded the ball but, instead of making the easier throw to first, attempted to get Kim out at the plate.
But he airmailed the throw, allowing Kim to score the winning run, ending the Phillies’ season in heartbreaking fashion.
“It just hit off my foot. Once that pressure got to me, I just thought there’s a faster throw to J.T. [Realmuto], little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to Bryce,” Kerkering told reporters after the game. “Just a horse—- throw.”
Making the moment even more gut-wrenching for the Phillies is that replays showed that Kerkering had time to make the throw to first base to get Pages—and that Realmuto was gesturing for him to do so. But in the chaos of the moment—a pressure cooker of a postseason scenario with thousands of screaming fans, a ball caroming off his foot and baserunners flying around the bases—Kerkering said he didn’t hear his teammates calling for him to make the throw to first and didn’t see Realmuto’s gestures.
As the Dodgers’ celebrated the thrilling walk-off win, a distraught Kerkering was comforted by Realmuto and outfielder Nick Castellanos, who ran from the outfield to make sure he got to the young reliever.
“Just keep your head up,” Kerkering said his teammates told him. “It’s an honest mistake. It’s baseball. S— happens. Just keep your head up, you’ll be good for a long time to come. Stuff like it’s not my fault—had opportunities to score. Just keep your head up.”
As Kerkering headed off the field, the first person waiting for him at the dugout step was Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who consoled him and shared a brief message for him.
“Just keep his head up,” Thomson said he told Kerkering. “He just got caught up in the moment a little bit. Coming down the stretch, he pitched so well for us. I feel for him [Orion Kerkering] because he’s putting it all on his shoulders. But we win as a team and we lose as a team.”
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