In a National League Division Series defined by pitching dominance and extra-inning tension, the Los Angeles Dodgers finally put away the Philadelphia Phillies in the most dramatic and anticlimactic fashion possible. Game 4, a masterful pitchers’ duel, stretched deep into extra innings knotted at 1-1. The series ended in the bottom of the 11th inning when a slow dribbler back to the mound turned into a season-ending disaster for Philadelphia. Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering rushed his throw to the plate, air-mailing it wide of the catcher. The errant throw allowed pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim to score the winning run, securing a 2-1 walk-off victory and a 3-1 series triumph for the reigning World Series champions. The bizarre, sudden-death conclusion sent the Dodgers to the NL Championship Series for the second straight year, leaving the Phillies to contemplate a brilliant effort that died on a single, crucial mistake.
A Classic Pitchers’ Duel Takes Center Stage
The decisive Game 4 was a throwback to old-school playoff baseball, driven entirely by two exceptional starting pitching performances. For the Los Angeles Dodgers, veteran ace Tyler Glasnow was magnificent, delivering a dazzling outing that silenced the potent Phillies lineup. Glasnow carved through six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while piling up eight strikeouts. His command and velocity kept the Phillies’ heavy hitters off balance and desperate for a baserunner.
Matching him pitch-for-pitch was Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez. The left-hander was equally brilliant, also navigating six shutout innings. Sánchez’s changeup was practically unhittable, effectively neutralizing the Dodgers’ power bats. Neither starting pitcher blinked, and the game remained locked in a tense 0-0 tie through the first six frames, setting the stage for a tight, high-leverage affair that was destined to be decided by a single mistake or moment of brilliance.
Scoring Finally Breaks the Stalemate
The scoreless deadlock was finally broken in the seventh inning, with both teams managing to scratch across a run to keep the pressure high. The Phillies were the first to score, demonstrating the timely hitting that had kept them competitive throughout the series. A run-scoring single by Nick Castellanos, the designated hitter, drove in the first run and gave Philadelphia a vital 1-0 lead, momentarily stunning the crowd at Dodger Stadium.
However, the Dodgers’ high-powered offense responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame, refusing to allow the lead to linger. They quickly loaded the bases, applying maximum pressure on the Phillies’ bullpen. The tying run ultimately crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly, knotting the score at 1-1 and extinguishing Philadelphia’s brief moment of celebration. This exchange of runs established the agonizing tension that would persist for the remainder of the evening, transforming the late innings into a desperate battle of relief pitching.
The Arrival of the Flamethrower: Roki Sasaki
As the game moved into extra innings, the Dodgers turned to their new, fearsome weapon in the bullpen: rookie phenom Roki Sasaki. The young right-hander, who had an uneven start to his season but returned to form late, has quickly become the manager’s go-to high-leverage arm. In Game 4, he delivered a performance that was nothing short of flawless.
Sasaki threw three perfect innings of relief, beginning with the 9th and extending through the 11th. He mowed down the heart of the Phillies’ order with a blistering fastball that consistently sat near the 100 mph mark, masterfully mixing in his devastating splitter. Sasaki generated whiffs and weak contact, retiring nine consecutive batters and buying the Dodgers’ struggling offense the crucial time it needed to find a winning run. His lights-out effort, allowing zero baserunners over 5 1/3 total scoreless innings in the series, established him as a major weapon and a potential series MVP had the team not been packed with established stars.
A Heartbreaking, Series-Ending Error
The dramatic eleven-inning struggle came to an abrupt and heartbreaking conclusion for the Phillies in the bottom of the 11th. The Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs against reliever Orion Kerkering, bringing the tension to a palpable peak. Andy Pages, the Dodgers’ batter, hit a soft, awkward chopper that landed a few feet in front of the mound.
Kerkering charged the ball, knowing he had to make a perfect play to save the Phillies’ season and force a Game 5. In his rush, the young pitcher fielded the ball cleanly but fired a panicked, errant throw high and wide of the catcher, J.T. Realmuto. The ball sailed past home plate, allowing pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim to trot home with the winning run. The official scoring ruled the play a walk-off throwing error, a cruel and sudden end to a brilliantly contested Division Series. The final score of 2-1, decided not by a powerful home run or a clean base hit, will forever be a painful footnote in Phillies playoff history, while the Dodgers celebrated a hard-fought series victory that propels them one step closer to defending their World Series title.
