Andy Pages hit a dribbler to the mound.
Orion Kerkering fielded it — then threw away the Philadelphia Phillies’ season.
With the bases loaded within the backside of the eleventh in Recreation 4 of the Nationwide League Division Sequence, that’s how the Dodgers secured a 2-1 walk-off win. On a throwing error from Kerkering. On a ball that went crusing to the backstop to permit Hyeseong Kim to attain. On a brutal, confounding determination from the Phillies reliever, that unleashed pandemonium inside Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers received the collection 3-1.
How the Dodgers defeated the Phillies within the eleventh inning in Recreation 4 of the NLDS.
And Thursday’s finale grew to become an on the spot basic.
In what began as a pitchers’ duel between two dominant starters, then morphed right into a battle of the bullpens, the Dodgers prevailed with a rally within the eleventh. They loaded the bases on singles from Tommy Edman and Max Muncy, then a two-out stroll from Kiké Hernández.
Pages got here to the plate subsequent, and swung by means of a first-pitch sinker.
Then, nonetheless, got here the stunning finish.
Pages hit one other sinker that dribbled in entrance of the mound. Kerkerking fielded it and — as a substitute of getting what would have been an nearly sure inning-ending out at first — inexplicably turned and threw to dwelling as a substitute.
The ball sailed on him. Catcher J.T. Realmuto couldn’t preserve it from going to the backstop. Kim crossed the plate, then went again and stomped on it simply to make sure.
Kerkerking bent over in quick remorse, because the Dodgers got here pouring out of the dugout to mob Pages close to first base.
Alex Name, entrance, celebrates together with his Dodgers teammates after a 2-1 walk-off win over the Phillies in Recreation 4 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night time.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Occasions)
“I assumed he was gonna throw to first,” Pages stated by means of an interpreter in an on-field interview. “However after I noticed him throw dwelling, I knew the sport was over.”
All afternoon, the strain had been constructing at Chavez Ravine.
By six innings, each Tyler Glasnow and Cristopher Sánchez had stored the opposing lineup off the board. Within the seventh, each groups broke by means of with a run after getting relievers onto the mound. And from there, the drama solely continued to construct, because the golf equipment went again to buying and selling zeros to pressure the sport into extras.
Lengthy earlier than the top, there have been star-worthy moments. Mookie Betts drew a bases-loaded stroll off Phillies nearer Jhoan Durán to tie the sport within the backside of the seventh. Roki Sasaki entered within the eighth for what grew to become three excellent innings of reduction, retiring all 9 batters he confronted.
By the top, it was nearly simple to overlook in regards to the beginning pitching performances that formed such a quintessential, low-scoring, nerve-wracking October canine combat.
In his first begin of the postseason, Glasnow pitched six scoreless through which he struck out eight batters, leaned closely on a fastball that had further life, and stranded all six runners who reached base towards him.
Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers towards the Phillies within the fourth inning Thursday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Occasions)
On the opposite aspect, Sánchez matched him step-for-step, flummoxing the Dodgers for the second time this collection with six scoreless frames of his personal to begin the day.
Lastly, within the seventh, each lineups discovered one thing.
The highest half of the inning started with a serious determination from Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts, who elected to drag Glasnow after 83 pitches (for context, he had thrown 70 complete pitches the earlier 18 days) and with the underside half of the Phillies order due up.
Emmet Sheehan took over, however instantly confronted hazard. J.T. Realmuto poked a leadoff single to middle with a very good piece of hitting on a two-strike slider. Then, Sheehan appeared to have gotten a double-play grounder from Max Kepler — solely to overlook Mookie Betts’ throw whereas protecting first. The ball bounced into the digital camera nicely. Kepler superior to second. The error would show to be expensive. Nick Castellanos roped a line drive simply contained in the third-base line within the subsequent at-bat, doubling dwelling Kepler to open the scoring.
Sheehan, nonetheless, settled down, limiting the harm there with an inning-ending strikeout of Trea Turner.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki celebrates after a strikeout within the ninth inning towards the Phillies in Recreation 4 of the NLDS.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Occasions)
And even within the face of their first deficit of the day, the Dodgers responded, knocking Sánchez out of the sport with one out within the backside of the seventh after an Alex Name stroll and Hernández single.
In an aggressive transfer from a supervisor combating to maintain his workforce’s season alive, Phillies skipper Rob Thomson summoned the flame-throwing Durán for an eight-out save. However he would solely get one earlier than blowing the lead, strolling Mookie Betts with the bases loaded later within the inning (following an Andy Pages grounder that moved the runners, and an intentional stroll to Shohei Ohtani).
From there, the sport lay within the fingers of each groups’ bullpens.
Sasaki retired all 9 batters he confronted from the eighth to the tenth. The Phillies additionally posted three-straight zeros, because of some assist from what was their projected Recreation 5 starter, Jesús Luzardo. Alex Vesia stranded a Phillies runner at second within the eleventh by hanging out Harrison Bader in a 10-pitch at-bat.
Lastly, the Dodgers constructed a rally within the backside of the eleventh.
Edman hit a one-out single off Luzardo, and was changed by Kim as a pinch-runner. Muncy additionally singled two batters later, permitting Kim to hurry all the way in which to 3rd. With Hernández up, the Phillies summoned Kerkering for a right-on-right matchup. However after strolling Hernández to load the bases, all of it got here right down to Pages.
And, it turned out, a call from Kerkering that ended the Phillies’ season, and it moved the Dodgers one other step nearer to a World Sequence title protection.
