The season is over.
As Hyeseong Kim crossed home plate, scoring the walk-off run in the bottom of the 11th, hearts sank not only on the field in Dodger Stadium, but across the Delaware Valley as well. The two-time National League East Champion Philadelphia Phillies, with their best record (96-66) since 2011, have been eliminated from the postseason.
With dawn having broken on a new day, it is time to look back on the fateful Game Four and figure out the question that many are wondering: why?
Jhoan Duran Walking in Shohei Ohtani
Grabbing their gloves to start the bottom of the seventh inning, the Phillies were feeling pretty good. Nick Castellanos had just broken the ice on the day, scoring Max Kepler on a double into left field. Cristopher Sánchez had allowed his fair share of baserunners on the day, but had navigated through each situation flawlessly to this point. Having allowed two runners on with one out, Rob Thomson decided that 95 pitches was enough for Sánchez. With everything on the line, Thomson went to the biggest gun in his arsenal: Jhoan Duran.
Recording the second out to Andy Pages, a groundout to Bryce Harper, a first, Duran now found himself with two runners in scoring position with the top of the order due up for the Dodgers. In other words, Shohei Ohtani was stepping into the batter's box.
Throughout the NLDS, Ohtani's bat was colder than the temperature in Philadelphia this morning. To that point, he was 1-for-17 on the series with eight strikeouts. But it was still Ohtani. The player of his generation, regardless of his success in this series, commands respect every time he steps up to the plate. The same Ohtani who was 2-for-5 with two home runs lifetime against Duran.
So, Duran and the Phillies intentionally walked Ohtani to get to Mookie Betts. Betts battled at the plate, forcing a walk to tie the game at 1-1 in the seventh.
Was this why the Phillies lost? No. Odds are, had Duran opted to pitch to Ohtani, a situation with two runners in scoring position in front of a friendly Dodger Stadium would have been the perfect spark to reignite the Japanese legend.
Kerkering's Throwing Error
Fast forward to the bottom of the 11th inning, and we find Jesús Luzardo beginning to struggle, allowing runners on the corners with two outs on the board. Hyeseong Kim stands 90 feet away from sending the Dodgers to the National League Championship Series. Orion Kerkering enters the game for the Phillies to face Enrique Hernández. Kerkering walks Hernández on six pitches, loading the bases.
With Pages back up to bat, Kerkering throws him back-to-back sinkers. On the second sinker, Pages connects, sending it right back up the middle at Kerkering. Kerkering deflects the hard-hit ground ball back towards home plate. Picking up the ball, with J.T. Realmuto pointing to first base, Kerkering panics and sends the ball home. Overthrowing Realmuto, the ball sails towards the backstop as Kim crosses the plate and all of Los Angeles celebrates.
Kerkering likely would have had time to make the play at first base as Pages was about halfway down the line. All of Kerkering's momentum, however, was homeward, making it a very close play at first had he thrown to Harper. Instead, Kerkering had a moment of tunnel vision and tried to stop the winning run from crossing the plate. A decision that will leave him doubting himself for a long time to come.
While the play is technically what allowed the Dodgers to win, it is not why the Phillies lost. One of the best offenses in baseball, finding a way to walk it off at home is an inevitability in that situation, should the away team fail to score in their half of the inning.
The Real Reason The Phillies Lost
Which brings us to the true reason the Phillies lost. When the score is 2-1, it does not matter how a run is allowed or who lets in the game-winner. What matters is simple: the Phillies only scored one run.
One of the top offenses in the league could only muster one run in an elimination game. That is all there is to it. The Phillies' top three in Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper went a combined 1-for-14 on the night. That is the National League batting champion, home run champion, and a two-time MVP.
The only run scored on the night came from Max Kepler, scoring off Nick Castellanos, two players who have been part-timers over the last two months of the season.
As a collective unit, the Phillies went 4-for-37, a .108 batting average, in the game. That is why the Phillies lost.
Clearing Out
Landing back in Philadelphia today, the Phillies will spend the next week clearing out their belongings from the clubhouse lockers and then disperse, returning to their homes to begin the offseason.
With pending free agents looming in Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Ranger Suárez, David Robertson, Max Kepler, and more, the clubhouse might look very different when pitchers and catchers report in four months. Until then, the offseason has arrived.
