There weren't too many runs scored during the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies' Thursday night clash. But the Dodgers scored the one that mattered the most. In the 11th inning, after the Dodgers and Phillies, for most of the night, were like two heavyweights trading blows in the middle of the ring in a back-and-forth 12-round boxing match, the former punched their ticket to the NLCS courtesy of a walk-off error from Orion Kerkering that allowed Hyeseong Kim to score the winning run in a 2-1 victory.
Kim has not played a very big role for the Dodgers all year. In fact, in Game 4 of the NLDS, Kim was on the bench until manager Dave Roberts called on him to run for Tommy Edman after the Dodgers' starting second baseman got a hit with one out in the inning. This was a pressure-cooker situation for the 26-year-old Korean international who is in his first year of big-league baseball, and he was clearly battling nerves, if him missing home plate at first was any indication.
“I was running for my life,” Kim said after the game, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Indeed, when one is running for their life, they tend to forget the basics of what they're doing. They just run off of full adrenaline, and Kim was trying his best to beat out a throw to home plate if it did ever come from the Phillies after Andy Pages hit a weak comebacker to the mound.
Thankfully for Kim, him missing home plate when he initially came across ended up not being a big deal, as Kerkering ended up sailing his throw to home plate way wide and high from Phillies catcher JT Realmuto.
The Dodgers have plenty of reason to celebrate, especially when everything seemed to break right for them on that right play.
Dodgers typify strength in numbers mantra
The Dodgers have plenty of superstar-level talents, which is why they've been so good over the past decade or so. But what sets them apart from other powerhouse teams is their depth. They have so many players that tend to step up when it matters the most, with Kike Hernandez being a prime example of a role player who shines in the postseason, and on Thursday, a few of their more unheralded players shone when thrown into the spotlight.
Now, the Dodgers will have an additional day of rest after the Chicago Cubs pushed the Milwaukee Brewers to a fifth game in their NLDS matchup.
