Defeats are very painful, and even more so if they are crushing. That’s exactly what happened to the Philadelphia Phillies, who fell after a rude mistake by Orion Kerkering in the divisional series against the Los Angeles Dodgers
The reigning champions continued their path to a second consecutive championship after leaving the Phillies on the diamond. With a 2-1 victory, the Angels showed that they have a lot of power to continue their path to the World Series.
While on the Philadelphia side, there were long faces at the post-game press conference. And it was not for less after the terrible mistake made by Orion Kerkering
Orion Kerkering’s costly error for the Phillies
In the 11th inning, with the game tied at 1-1, Jesus Luzardo was relieved by the 24-year-old Kerkering, and that’s when the disaster began. He allowed Hernandez to reach base, and that loaded the bases.
Andi Pages was ready to take his turn against the young pitcher, and what was seen next would be a total heartbreak for the Phillies and their thousands of fans
The nerves got the better of the reliever. In a throw that seemed easy to throw to first and get the runner out, he decided to send the ball to home plate, and ended up flying it, which gave the Dodgers the opportunity to score the winning run. This was also the first time that a postseason game in MLB ended with an error.
After the game, Rob Thompson, Philadelphia’s manager, would say:
Just to keep his head up. You know, he got a little bit carried away in the moment. Down the stretch, he pitched really well for us, and I feel sorry for him because he’s putting everything on his shoulders, but we win as a team and we lose as a team.
And he added about his player‘s feelings after this mistake:
That’s what… it tells you what they’re made of, you know? Like I said, they win as a team and they lose as a team, they support each other, they feel as bad as you do, it’s good to see them there for each other.
In a decision that no one understood, he also explained why he decided to take out Luzardo, who was pitching well.
Jesus had 30 pitches and three days’ rest. I didn’t want to push him too hard.
This sad play by Kerkering did not go unnoticed by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who also had words to say about it.
It’s brutal.”…”Obviously, they played excellent defense tonight. It’s one of those things that looks like a pitcher’s fielding practice. He’s done it thousands of times. And right there, he was so focused, I’m sure, on catching the batter that he forgot about the outs and the situation. Kerkering is a great player. And you definitely feel sorry for a player.
Now the Phillies will have to reinvent themselves to come back stronger next year, while the Dodgers continue on their path to greatness.
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