Picture this: the heart-pounding drama of a baseball showdown where a single, reckless pitcher's throw flips the script on an entire postseason series! In a game that had fans on the edge of their seats for hours, the Los Angeles Dodgers edged out the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1, clinching a 3-1 victory in the NL Division Series and advancing to face either the Chicago Cubs or the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Championship Series. But here's where it gets controversial—could one player's momentary lapse really decide the fate of two powerhouse teams? Let's dive into the wild ride of Game 5, breaking it down step by step so even newcomers to baseball can follow along.
The Phillies and Dodgers locked horns in a tense battle, neither team able to muster a run through inning after inning of intense, scoreless play. Both squads managed to scratch across a single tally, pushing the contest into extra frames where the stakes only grew higher. And then, in one of the most insane conclusions to a postseason matchup in recent memory, everything unraveled in the 11th inning.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering mishandled a ground ball hit by Andy Pages, a routine play that pitchers drill in practice from spring training onward. Instead of calmly tossing to first base, Kerkering opted for a hasty sidearm throw toward home plate, a mere 46 feet away. The ball veered wildly up the third-base line, slipping past catcher J.T. Realmuto's glove, allowing pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim to dash across the plate and seal the Dodgers' narrow triumph on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, in front of a roaring crowd of 50,563.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith, still buzzing from the victory and perhaps a celebratory beer or two, summed it up perfectly in the postgame festivities: 'That was a nail-biter. They cracked. We didn't.' Kerkering, the 24-year-old pitcher, hung his head in dismay, hands on his knees, as Kim—through a translator—expressed his surprise and determination: 'I was surprised he threw it home. I just ran as hard as I could.'
Realmuto had signaled for the throw to first base after the broken-bat grounder bounced off Kerkering's foot and trickled toward the mound. Kerkering admitted the pressure got the better of him: 'Just hit off my foot. Once the pressure got to me, I just thought there’s a little faster throw to J.T., little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to Bryce (Harper at first). So just a horses—- throw.' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called it a brutal moment, noting it was like a 'pitcher's fielding practice'—something Kerkering had done countless times. '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.'
Phillies skipper Rob Thomson offered comfort, draping an arm around the distraught Kerkering as he entered the dugout. 'He just got caught up in the moment a little bit. I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulders.' And this is the part most people miss—does the blame truly rest on one young pitcher's shoulders, or is it a symptom of the immense pressure cooker that is postseason baseball? For beginners, a 'walk-off error' like this means the game ends on a defensive mistake that allows the winning run to score, turning potential victory into defeat in an instant.
Interestingly, this wasn't the first time a postseason series concluded with such a blunder. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, exactly nine years earlier, Texas Rangers infielder Rougned Odor botched a relay throw on a possible double-play grounder, letting Josh Donaldson score and handing Toronto a 7-6, 10-inning win to sweep the AL Division Series. Los Angeles has now clinched a postseason series with a walk-off victory three times, including Bill Russell's game-winning hit against the Phillies in the 1978 NLCS and Chris Taylor's home run in the 2021 NL wild card round.
The Phillies, clad in their retro powder blue uniforms for the second consecutive road game, were eliminated in the Division Series for the second year in a row, despite being the reigning World Series champions. As Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber put it, 'They held us at bay for eight innings and we just couldn’t push through there at the end.' The game saw Nick Castellanos drive in a run with a double in the seventh off Emmet Sheehan, giving Philadelphia the lead, but Jhoan Duran issued a bases-loaded walk to Mookie Betts in the bottom half, tying the score.
In the 11th, Tommy Edman singled off Jesús Luzardo and advanced to third on Max Muncy's two-out single that evaded a diving Trea Turner. Edman described the late innings as 'very stressful,' emphasizing how 'every little play meant that much more.' Kerkering then walked Kiké Hernández to load the bases, setting up Pages' grounder—though Pages was mired in a 1-for-23 slump in the postseason.
On the mound, Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki dazzled with three hitless innings of relief, his fastball averaging 99.5 mph, teaming up with Tyler Glasnow, Sheehan, and winner Alex Vesia to limit the Phillies to just four hits. Sasaki, speaking through a translator, felt confident: 'Just felt like my fastball velo was back to where it used to be, and the command of the fastball was where I wanted it to be as well. Because of that I do really feel confident to be able to attack in zone.' Glasnow contributed six innings, allowing two hits and three walks while racking up eight of the Dodgers' 12 strikeouts. 'It’s amazing,' he said. 'Everyone contributed. It was a great game.'
As we wrap this up, it's hard not to ponder the 'what ifs'—what if Kerkering had made the safe play to first? Would the Phillies have turned the series around, or was this just the Dodgers' night? Some might argue that errors like this highlight the human element in sports, making baseball unpredictable and thrilling, while others could see it as a failure of composure under fire. Do you think Kerkering deserves sympathy for cracking under pressure, or should he be held accountable for costing his team the game? Is this a sign that the Phillies' dynasty is fading, or just a fluke in an otherwise stellar season? Share your hot takes in the comments—do you agree with the managers' takes, or do you have a different view? Let's discuss!
