The Los Angeles Dodgers punched their ticket to the National League Championship Series, not with a heroic blast, but with a dramatic 2-1 extra-innings victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4, thanks to an agonizing throwing error by Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering. This win, dubbed a “war” by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, underscored the resilience of the Dodgers and highlighted the brutal realities of postseason pressure, marking the end of the Phillies’ season in heartbreaking fashion.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are advancing to the National League Championship Series, but their 2-1, 11-inning victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the NLDS on Thursday night, October 9, 2025, wasn’t clinched in a conventional manner. Instead, the season-ending play came from an unforgettable blunder by Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering, highlighting the immense pressure cooker that is postseason baseball.
For the Dodgers, what should have been a jubilant celebration was tinged with relief and exhaustion. Manager Dave Roberts described the grueling series as a “war,” a “battle,” and an “instant classic,” sentiments echoed by third baseman Max Muncy, who admitted the team was “too exhausted to properly celebrate” immediately after the win, as reported by USA Today.
The Fateful Eleventh Inning: A Moment of Unbelief
The game was a pitching masterpiece, with both starters, Tyler Glasnow for the Dodgers and Cristopher Sanchez for the Phillies, delivering six shutout innings. It wasn’t until the seventh that runs were scored, with the Phillies taking a 1-0 lead on Nick Castellanos’s RBI double. The Dodgers immediately countered when Mookie Betts drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 1-1.
The tension escalated into extra innings, culminating in the bottom of the 11th. With two outs and the bases loaded, Dodgers’ number nine hitter Andy Pages hit a broken-bat grounder back to reliever Orion Kerkering. What happened next etched itself into postseason infamy. Kerkering fumbled the ball, picked it up bare-handed, and instead of making the easy throw to first base for the third out, he inexplicably fired it home, sailing wide of catcher J.T. Realmuto as pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim sprinted across the plate for the winning run.
“I was just so mad at myself,” Pages recalled, still halfway to first base when the error occurred. Kim, meanwhile, simply “ran for my life,” as captured by The Associated Press. The Dodgers poured onto the field in a mix of pure joy and disbelief, while Kerkering slumped in despair, visibly distraught by his mistake. He later commented, “Once the pressure got to me, I just thought there’s a little faster throw to J.T., little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to (first base). So just a horse-(expletive) throw.”
Roki Sasaki: A Postseason Revelation
While the final play was an error, the Dodgers’ victory was also built on an extraordinary pitching performance from rookie Roki Sasaki. Once a highly sought-after international free agent, Sasaki had a challenging regular season, posting a 4.72 ERA in eight starts and struggling with velocity and mechanics. He spent time on the injured list and in the minors, undergoing a mechanical overhaul by the Dodgers’ staff.
His return in late September saw him transition to a bullpen role, and he quickly found his form. In Game 4, Sasaki was nothing short of sensational, delivering three perfect innings of relief (8th, 9th, 10th). He mowed down nine Phillies batters in order, needing only 36 pitches (26 strikes). Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hailed it as “one of the great all-time appearances out of the pen,” praising Sasaki’s “toughness” and acknowledging that the rookie is “just scratching the surface” of his potential. With his fastball velocity back to 100 mph and his command sharp, Sasaki’s emergence as a dominant postseason closer could be a game-changer for the Dodgers’ World Series aspirations.
Phillies’ Heartbreak and a Manager’s Burden
For the Philadelphia Phillies, the loss was a devastating end to a promising season. Despite boasting one of baseball’s most formidable lineups and being the NL’s No. 2 seed, their star hitters like Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper struggled in Game 4, going 1-for-14 with four strikeouts. This marks the second consecutive year the Phillies have been eliminated in the NLDS, following their 2023 NLCS loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks despite a 3-2 series lead at one point.
Manager Rob Thomson wrapped an arm around the distraught Kerkering in the dugout, expressing sympathy. “He just got caught up in the moment a little bit,” Thomson said. “I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulders. But we win as a team, and we lose as a team.” The immediate aftermath saw Thomson facing questions about his job security, to which he responded with a focus on his “broken-hearted” team. “When this happens, it’s like your entire world comes to a stop. It’s just a thud,” he added, perfectly encapsulating the brutal finality of postseason defeat.
Beyond the Blunder: Strategic Calls and Star Power
This series was also marked by intriguing managerial decisions. Dodgers’ Roberts faced scrutiny for removing Glasnow after six shutout innings, a move that saw the Phillies immediately score their lone run. On the other side, Thomson’s decision to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani (who was 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts in the series) to face Mookie Betts backfired spectacularly, as Betts drew the bases-loaded walk to tie the game in the seventh.
The series saw many of the biggest names struggle at the plate. The Dodgers’ potent quartet of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez combined for a pedestrian 3-for-18 with seven strikeouts in Game 4. This highlights the intense defensive pressure and elite pitching that defines postseason play, where even the game’s biggest stars can be shut down.
Dodgers’ World Series Quest Continues
With their 3-1 series victory, the Dodgers advance to face the winner of the Chicago Cubs–Milwaukee Brewers series in the NLCS. They enter the next round as heavy favorites, buoyed by their formidable rotation, including Ohtani, Blake Snell, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and now with the unexpected emergence of Roki Sasaki as a lights-out closer.
The Dodgers are pursuing their third World Series championship in six years, a feat not accomplished by an NL team since the Cincinnati Reds’ “Big Red Machine” in 1975-76. While their immediate celebration was subdued, the focus is clear: “Our goal is to win the World Series. The goal is not to win the NLDS,” stated Enrique Hernandez. Having survived this “war,” the Dodgers feel they can beat anyone, and with Sasaki’s newfound dominance, their confidence is surging. Eight more victories and they will achieve their ultimate goal.
