LOS ANGELES – The throw home from Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering sailed to the backstop in the 11th inning, and the Dodgers advanced to the National League Championship Series after a wild, tense finish Thursday night.
Here are my takeaways:
1. What a finish!
With the bases loaded and two outs in the 11th, the Dodgers’ Andy Pages sent a comebacker back to Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering, who didn’t handle it cleanly.
Rather than throw to first to get Pages, he went home.
“When I saw him throw to home, I had a feeling the game was over,” Pages said in the aftermath.
The throw sailed wildly over the head of catcher J.T. Realmuto, sending the Dodgers to the NLCS.
2. Pitchers’ duel adds to the tension
Tyler Glasnow and Cristopher Sanchez went toe-to-toe for six innings, with neither starter willing to relent.
Combined, the two teams had just three hits until a two-out single from Alec Bohm in the sixth inning. Glasnow started the frame by striking out Kyle Schwarber, continued with a groundout from Bryce Harper and finished his sixth scoreless inning with a 97 mph strikeout of Brandon Marsh. The fact Glasnow was still in the game with the heart of the Phillies’ order due up a third time through was a testament to his spotless work as he matched the Cy Young contender in the opposite dugout.
He needed to be perfect, considering what Sánchez was doing to the Dodgers’ offense, and he was. It was clear Glasnow had his good stuff from the start, when he dialed his four-seamer up to 98.8 mph to end the first inning with a strikeout of Brandon Marsh, eliminating the Phillies’ best threat of the day against the Dodgers’ starter.
The Dodgers had similar opportunities in the third and the sixth against Sánchez, putting runners on the corners with two outs, but the left-hander worked his way around the traffic both times. The only run he allowed came after his departure in the seventh.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
3. Slick defense … for most of the night
Runs already figured to be at a premium given the pitching matchup and the afternoon shadows, but aside from a Bohm error on a Shohei Ohtani grounder in the third, some terrific defense from both sides played a significant role in keeping the game scoreless through six.
In the second, Max Kepler’s diving catch robbed a hit from Tommy Edman. In an inning that could have gone south for Cristopher Sánchez, the star left-hander needed just eight pitches to escape after a nice play from Bohm to start a double play. An inning later, a diving stop from Bryson Stott prevented a hit from Kiké Hernández and nearly began a double play. Meanwhile, Trea Turner recorded out with two nice diving stops on the night.
In the fourth, Edman slid to his right at second base to get a force out, and a smooth play down the third-base line from Hernández got J.T. Realmuto at first. Almost all night, the defense was pristine until the final deciding moment.
3. Decisions backfire after starters depart
Glasnow was still cruising, maintaining high-90s velocity and only at 83 pitches when the Dodgers decided his night was done. They turned to Emmet Sheehan, who allowed a leadoff single to J.T. Realmuto before getting a potential double-play ball on a grounder to first baseman Freddie Freeman, but Sheehan whiffed on the throw back to first from Mookie Betts. The ball tipped off Sheehan’s glove and carried into the camera well, allowing Kepler to get to second. The error was costly, as Nick Castellanos followed with an RBI double to start the scoring.
It felt like the type of game where one run could decide it. But the lead was short-lived.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Phillies manager Rob Thomson had his own choices to make in the bottom of the frame, after two of the first three batters reached against Sánchez. In the seventh, Thomson went from his ace to his closer. Jhoan Duran got a groundout from Andy Pages to put two runners in scoring position with two outs when the Phillies decided to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani — despite a 1-for-17 start to the series at the time — to get to Betts, who worked a full-count bases-loaded walk to tie the game.
Durán prevented further damage, though, getting Teoscar Hernandez to chase at three pitches out of the zone for the strikeout. And the marathon continued.
4 ½. Spotless Sasaki
Rookie Roki Sasaki continued his perfect work since becoming manager Dave Roberts’ most-trusted bullpen asset this October. This time, it required more than usual.
Sasaki was up to the task, retiring all nine batters he faced in three innings of work to keep the game tied at 1 from the 8th to the 10th. He has now allowed just one hit in 5.1 scoreless relief innings this postseason.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.
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