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By Nelson Espinal
Contributing Sports Reporter
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The Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to the National League Championship Series after Philadelphia Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering made a costly error that lost his team Game 4 of the NLDS.
With the game tied in the 11th inning, the Dodgers worked the bases loaded. Slumping outfielder Andy Pages stepped up to the plate with two outs in the game.
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It was a righty-on-righty matchup, and after getting an 0-2 count, Pages made soft contact on a ball that landed in front of Kerkering, though the spin made it hard to field and caused the pitcher to panic.
Kerkering had a play at first base still, having ample time to get Pages out, but he instead threw the ball towards home plate, where catcher J.T. Realmuto was. Dodgers pinch runner Hyeseong Kim was sprinting to the plate, though Kerkering ended up sailing the ball above the reach of Realmuto, who had to keep his foot on the plate for the out.
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Kim was able to step on home plate safely, and the game ended on the play, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 victory and a 3-1 series victory.
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The Dodgers celebrated shortly after the play, but Kerkering was left distraught knowing that he had cost his team the chance to stay in the series.
After the game, Pages gave his perspective on the play and initial reaction.
“When I hit the ball, I saw [Kerkering] didn’t grab it, so I kept running,” he said in Spanish, according to Jack Harris of the LA Times. “Then I looked back and I saw that he threw home, and I just thought, ‘No, he threw the game away.’”
The play will sting for the young arm, who will bear the weight of media scrutiny in a big market like Philadelphia, along with a set of fans who are brutally honest to their players.
Infielder Miguel Rojas, a veteran who has seen his fair share of errors, felt for Kerkering, a 24-year-old reliever stepping on a big stage and making a regrettable mistake.
“You feel bad, but at the end of the day, you know you can be that guy because you play in a sport. It’s part of baseball. It happens," Rojas said.
“I was talking to Freddie [Freeman] about that, and we both talked about how bad that would feel. He’s got to wait until next year to flush it out."
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