Every season, 29 other MLB teams do not experience the thrill of hoisting the World Series trophy come season's end. But that doesn't mean that all of those teams experience heartbreak in the same way. In fact, the Philadelphia Phillies could scarcely think of a more devastating way to bow out of the postseason than the way they did against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night in a 2-1 defeat that sealed their fate in Game 4 of the NLDS.
The Phillies allowed the Dodgers to score the winning run in the 11th inning after reliever Orion Kerkering sailed a throw high and wide past JT Realmuto in a force out attempt at home plate. Never mind the fact that there were already two other Dodgers that were on base when Kerkering came on; the 24-year-old reliever, who made the crucial error, became the butt of many jokes online and a source of major frustration for Phillies fans.
No one put what Kerkering should have done better than former Phillies All-Star Lenny Dykstra, who summed up everything up in eight words.
“You had 10 minutes to throw to 1st,” Dykstra wrote on his official account on X (formerly Twitter).
In a perfect world, perhaps Kerkering would have had the composure to field the ball cleanly, sort out his glove, twist his body towards first base, and fire the ball towards Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper. But as Kerkering said after the game, he didn't think he had enough time to do so, which is why he did what he did.
Alas, Hyeseong Kim, the Dodgers baserunner at third base, was “running for his life” and made everything such a difficult play for Kerkering and Realmuto. Now, the Phillies have all offseason to think about what they could and should have done.
Phillies deal with playoff disappointment for fourth consecutive year
Somehow, the playoff heartbreak for the Phillies has gotten worse year after year. In 2022, the Phillies lost to the Houston Astros in the World Series after a Cinderella run all the way from the Wild Card series after it seemed as though they wouldn't make it into the postseason in the first place. The following year, they blew a 3-2 series lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS.
In 2024, the Phillies lost in the NLDS after winning the division, and they lost that series to a division rival in the New York Mets. And now, it was a walk-off error that doomed them.
The Phillies may have to enter the postseason via the Wild Card if they want to make it past the NLDS again.
