“A complete boneheaded move!”; “Feel terrible for Orion Kerkering” - Fans split as Phillies exit playoffs following gut-wrenching pitching error

The Philadelphia Phillies were knocked out of the postseason after closer Orion Kerkering's devastating error in a 2-1 defeat against the Los Angeles Dodgers in NLDS Game 4 on Thursday.

Kerkering was on the mound with the bases loaded for the Dodgers in the bottom of the 11th inning. It seemed like the Phillies closer escaped the jam after Andy Pages struck a grounder towards him.

However, Kerkering bobbled the grab and made a misdirected throw to his catcher, J.T. Realmuto. As the Phillies catcher failed to grab the ball, Hyeseong Kim dashed from third base to clinch a walk-off win for the Dodgers.

Fans reacted to the Phillies closer's game-deciding error in extra innings.

"Now we can say that pitchers are not athletic. Just a complete bone headed move."

"It happens. I feel terrible for Kerkering. Poor kid!"

"Not a Philly’s fan in the slightest & still hated to see it end that way. That’s heartbreaking."

"As tough as that is, I feel for the guy. He muffed it and then panicked. If he goes to first we’re still watching in the 12th. Tough one to go out on."

"Horrible decision! Always go to first!! Especially if you boot it!! Yoh can tell he knew it was a mistake right away and that’s why it flew but it was too late to change. This play will haunt him forever."

Kerkering's mistake got him into the record books, for the wrong reasons, as the Dodgers became the first team to win a postseason series on a walk-off error.

Rob Thomson, Dave Roberts sympathize with Phillies closer after Dodgers' walk-off win

Orion Kerkering seemed heartbroken after his mistake ended the Phillies' postseason journey. He was consoled by Phillies manager Rob Thomson in the dugout.

“Just keep your head up. He just got caught in the moment a little bit,” Thomson said. “Coming down the stretch, he pitched so well for us, and I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulders. But we win as a team and we lose as a team.”

Although the Dodgers benefited from Kerkering's error, manager Dave Roberts felt for the Phillies closer.

"It's brutal," Roberts said. "Obviously they played great defense tonight. It's one of those things that it's a PFP, a pitcher's fielding practice. He's done it a thousand times. And right there he was so focused, I'm sure, on just getting the hitter and just sort of forgot the outs and the situation. Kerkering is a stud. And you definitely feel for a player.''

The Dodgers have qualified for the championship series for the fourth time in six seasons and will face the winner of the Chicago Cubs-Milwaukee Brewers series.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash