Under the category of: “Now there’s something you don’t see every day,” the Dodgers punched their ticket to the 2025 National League Championship Series on, of all things, a walk-off error committed by, of all people, the opposing pitched. In fact, it has never happen before since Major League Baseball went to the current postseason format in 2022.
The error was committed by 24-year-old Philadelphia Phillies rookie right-hander Orion Kerkering with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, allowing Dodgers pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim to score the game-winning run in the Dodgers 2-1 walk-off win over the Phillies.
Kerkering, who could have – and should have – very easily thrown to first base for what would have been – and should have been – the final out of the inning, but instead opted to throw home with a throw that Phillies catcher (or any catcher) J.T. Realmuto could not handle.
(TBS)
“He threw the game away,” 24-year-old Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages (for whom Kim was pinch running) said postgame of Kerkering’s NLDS-losing error.
As you would expect, the 24-year-old Huntington Beach, CA native and Phillies fifth-round draft pick in 2022 out of University of South Florida in Tampa was devastated by his errant – and now historic – awful decision and throw.
“I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulders, but we win as a team and we lose as a team ,” Phillies manager Rob Thompson said postgame. “After the game I said, you know, I appreciate what they’ve done all year. They prepared, competed, picked each other up, true professionals the entire year. Extremely proud of how they went about their business,” he added.
(Sports Illustrated)
Ironically, the Dodgers first – and game-tying – run on Thursday was the result of a bases loaded walk of Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts by Phillies right-hander Jhoan Duran with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, adding to the ‘It was meant to be(ness)’ of the 2025 NLDS win by the Dodgers.
(TBS)
The Dodgers will face the winner of Saturday’s NLDS game between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee, with the best-of-five series knotted at two games apiece.
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