No, he didn’t.
Yes, they did!
No, it’s inconceivable that Philadelphia Phillies’ reliever Orion Kerkering would botch a grounder and throw it away with the season on the line.
Yes, it happened with the bases loaded and the Dodgers scored to steal a National League Division Series clinching 2-1 victory in 11 taut innings Thursday at Dodger Stadium!
Clinched, just in time.
Clinched, when they could have clenched.
Clinched, like a champion.
With their backs quickly approaching the wall, faced with a loss that would return the series to Philadelphia for a deciding Game 5, the Dodgers dug in and lashed out and, at the last possible minute, shoved the talented and favored Philadelphia Phillies out of their path to take a three-games-to-one series win and clear the way toward their second consecutive World Series title.
And they did it with a mad, mindless throw from a frozen, frightened reliever.
Has any postseason series ended with such an error?
It happened in the 11th, after Tommy Edman hit a one-out single to left, then moved to third one out later on a single by Max Muncy. Kiké Hernández walked to load the bases, bringing up the struggling Andy Pages, who entered the day with an .053 playoff average and had gone hitless in four previous at-bats.
He proceeded to hit into his fifth out… except Kerkering muffed the grounder. When the pitcher finally picked up the ball, he still had plenty of time to throw out Pages at first. Instead, he panicked and threw it home, launching it far over catcher JT Realmuto’s head.
Pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim scored the winning run as Kerkering stood stunned on the mound and the Dodgers danced wildly across the field.
They now advance to the National League Championship Series, where they will be heavy favorites against either the Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago Cubs.
A victory in that seven-game set will land them back in the World Series, where they will be even heavier favorites against whatever inferior team the American League can muster.
Yeah, the rest of their journey should be the easy part, the Dodgers already conquering their Goliath equal in a Phillies series that was essentially the World Series.
Remember last fall when they defeated the San Diego Padres in a tense five-game fight before cruising to the title? This was that. This was the two best teams in baseball. This was the Dodgers once again swallowing all the pressure and refusing to relent.
After a breathtaking six-inning scoreless pitching duel between the Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow and the Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez, the Phillies struck first in the seventh with a single, an error by reliever Emmet Sheehan, and a double by Nick Castellanos.
The Dodgers countered in the bottom of the seventh with two walks and a single followed by a bases-loaded walk drawn by Mookie Betts against closer Jhoan Duran.
This set the stage for the Error Heard ‘Round The World. This set the stage for what should absolutely be a second consecutive World Series championship.
Before these playoffs there was a lot of talk about the Dodgers’ late-season struggles that were symbolized by that blown no-hitter in Baltimore. They had no bullpen depth. They had no offensive patience. They were headed for another early October exit.
At least, that’s what outsiders thought. That’s not what the veteran, pressure-proof Dodgers thought.
“I think it boils down to the guys we have in the clubhouse,” said Max Muncy earlier this week. “We have a lot of experience, a lot of really good players. We’ve been there before. We accomplished it.”
Turns out, nobody knew the Dodgers like the players wearing the uniform.
“We knew who we are as a team all year long,” said Muncy. “Even though we weren’t playing up to it at certain points, we trusted who we were. Like I said, we knew who we were in the clubhouse, not one person faulted in there, even in the rough times.”
They were impressive in the four games against the Phillies. Here’s predicting they’re going to get even better before the month ends.
“I still think there’s another gear in there,” said Muncy. “I don’t think we fully reached where we can be at. And that’s not saying we are, and that’s not saying we aren’t. But I still think there’s a whole other level in there we haven’t reached yet.”
The Times’ Bill Shaikin quickly asked, “What would tell you you’ve reached it?”
“I think you would know,” said Muncy.
The media laughed. The rest of baseball shivered.
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