LOS ANGELES An epic game ended with an error, and it means the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to the NLCS.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the 11th inning, Andy Pages the Dodgers’ worst hitter of the postseason hit an easy ground ball to reliever Orion Kerkering. Kerkering booted the ball, then threw it toward home but out of the reach of catcher J.T. Realmuto too little, too late to save his team’s season. The winning run crossed the plate, and the Dodgers won 2-1 in Game 4.
Dodger Stadium exploded with noise as soon as the ball left Kerkering’s hand, leaving the Phillies walking off the field, shell-shocked. With that, the Dodgers advance to face the winner of the Brewers-Cubs series in the NLCS.
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For six innings, the game was a full pitcher’s duel. Cristopher Sánchez answering the bell was hardly surprising after a season that will see him finish as a Cy Young finalist, but Tyler Glasnow came up huge for the Dodgers nearly two weeks after his last start.
Glasnow and Sánchez exchanged zeros into the seventh inning and allowed six hits combined in that span. It was only in that seventh inning when both bullpens got involved, in ways that inspired second-guessing on both sides. Despite Glasnow being at only 83 pitches, the Dodgers opted to pull him for Emmet Sheehan, who promptly gave up a run on a Nick Castellanos double.
Sánchez stayed in to start the seventh, but allowed two baserunners with one out. The Philles summoned rested closer Jhoan Duran to put out the fire. An Andy Pages grounder put runners on second and third with two outs, and then the Phillies intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani, who to that point was 1-for-17 with eight strikeouts in the series.
The decision blew up in their face when Mookie Betts worked a full-count walk to tie the game, but that obviously wasn’t the end of it of their mistakes.