In a bout between arguably the two best teams in baseball — at this time, not by record — the NLDS between the Dodgers and Phillies came to an end on an unfortunate mishap. The Dodgers prevailed, and this doesn’t taint their advancement one iota. In fact, the best teams are the ones who don’t beat themselves. It was just a bummer to have such a well-played game end on an error that was also a bad decision.
A super-tense playoff game remained 1-1 heading to the bottom of the 11th. The Dodgers should be credited, also, with the rally that loaded the bases with two outs. Andy Pages put the ball in play, which was another plus. It was just a comebacker to pitcher Orion Kerkering, who knocked it down. That appeared to cause him to speed things up in his head.
Kerkering could have — he should have — taken the easy out at first base, especially with Hye-seong Kim from third base having such a head start in breaking for home before the ball wasn’t fielded cleanly. Once it wasn’t fielded cleanly, there was no reason to even try the throw home. It appeared Kerkering panicked in making the hurried decision. Maybe a good throw would’ve gotten the runner and forced a 12th inning, but it was the wrong play.
And Kerkering threw it far out of the reach of catcher J.T. Realmuto.
The Phillies’ season was over, just like that. No one should feel sorry for them as a team. They had a lead in Game 1. They staged a late rally in Game 2 that came up short. They had a 1-0 lead in this game and walked home the tying run in the seventh. They had scoring opportunities in Game 4, too, though only a small handful. They were simply defeated by a team that played better than them. And it would be folly to blame Kerkering for the series loss.
“I feel for [Kerkering] because he’s putting it all on his shoulders,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “But we win as a team and we lose as a team.”
The Dodgers appear to be rounding into shape at the right time. Though they failed to secure a bye and were the third seed in the NL behind the top-seeded Brewers and these Phillies, the Dodgers had an argument heading into the playoffs that they were the best team. They are the defending champs. They only won four fewer games than the Brewers, won 15 of their last 20 and are armed with all kinds of high-priced talent.
The Phillies, of course, have been here a lot. They were in the 2022 World Series and one game away in 2023. They won 95 games and had a bye last year. They won 96 and had a bye this year. The have power arms and power bats.
The Brewers and Blue Jays, among teams still alive, also have arguments as the best teams in baseball and we’re also in the middle of a tournament to decide the World Series champion.
But, man, the Phillies and Dodgers both seemed too strong to be facing each other in a five-game series instead of a seven-game series. And, hey, who knows? Maybe if it were a seven game series the Dodgers just would’ve won in five games we would have lamented that the series didn’t live up to its billing.
Regardless, it was certainly a shame we didn’t get to squeeze a fifth game out of this one, especially give the unfortunate manner in which it ended for the Phillies.
