LOS ANGELES— The 2025 Philadelphia Phillies finished their season with a Hollywood ending.
For the Phillies, however, it was not the ending they had pictured back when Spring Training first began. With the bases loaded and two outs in the eleventh inning, Andy Pages of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit a dribble back to Orion Kerkering at the mound.
Kerkering did not field it cleanly and scrambled to grab the baseball. While he had time to make a strong throw to first base, his internal clock failed him. Throwing home to try and get the runner at the plate was the path he chose. Kerkering said the ball passed J.T. Realmuto, bringing home the winning run for the reigning champs.
Pitchers duel
Cristopher Sanchez took the ball for the second time in the National League Division Series on Thursday night. Sanchez was fantastic in Game One, tossing 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs, and striking out eight.
The left-hander assumed the role of ace when Zack Wheeler went out for the remainder of the 2025 season. It was not a role Sanchez took lightly, as he rose to the occasion. He will likely finish second in National League Cy Young voting this season.
The future Cy Young finalist was ramped up and ready to go in Game Four. Sanchez started his outing much like he did the first time, with dominance. Shutting down the high-powered Dodgers' lineup, Sanchez was cruising once again.
Whenever traffic would enter the base paths, the left-hander would seemingly take his pitching to another level. Sanchez escaped several jams and kept Los Angeles off the board through six innings.
For the Dodgers, Tyler Glasnow would make his first postseason start of the year. After appearing in relief in Game One, Glasnow got the nod with the chance to send LA to the NLCS for the second straight season.
Glasnow matched Sanchez pitch for pitch and was just as dominant. He allowed a double to Kyle Schwarber in the first inning, but then went into cruise control for the remainder of the game. The Phillies' offense was inept for the third time in four games against Los Angeles.
The unlikely hero
How many times has Nick Castellanos come through in big moments?
It always seems like Castellanos has a nose for the moment. Despite his performance in standard situations, when there seems to be more pressure, Castellanos finds himself in the spotlight.
With the game tied up at 0-0 in the seventh inning, the veteran would double home Max Kepler to give the Phillies a 1-0. An unlikely duo, Kepler and Castellanos, pulled through.
However, this would be the only time the Phillies crossed home plate on Thursday evening.
Late-inning dramatics
With a one-run lead, Sanchez would get the ball again in the bottom of the seventh inning. The bottom of the Dodgers' lineup was due up, and Sanchez's pitch count was rising.
After getting Will Smith to ground out, Alex Call would be the next batter. Call should have been called out on strikes by home plate umpire Mark Wegner, but instead was gifted a walk. This would come back to haunt the Phillies.
Enrique Hernández, who becomes an MVP-caliber player in the playoffs, singled off Sanchez. With two men on base and one out, Sanchez's outing, and season would end. Rob Thomson would go to his closer, Jhoan Duran, to get the team out of the jam. This was the first time Duran entered a game earlier than the ninth for the Phillies, and he was on the hook for multiple innings in this one, another first.
Duran would get Pages to ground out, moving the runners but recording a second out. Shohei Ohtani was due up, but the Phillies opted to intentionally walk him. This loaded the bases, but gave them a righty-righty matchup with Mookie Betts. Duran, however, could not locate his pitches, walking Betts, and giving LA their first run.
With the Dodgers threatening for more, Duran settled in and got Teoscar Hernandez to end the inning. But the damage was done, and it would be up to the Phillies' offense to make a difference.
Down without a fight
Both teams saw their bats go cold yet again after the seventh inning.
The Phillies would use Duran in the eighth and then go to Matt Strahm in the ninth. The Dodgers turned to Roki Sasaki, who gave them three innings out of the bullpen on Thursday night. Neither team could muster any offense, sending the game into extra innings.
Thomson would try a new trick, bringing Jesus Luzardo in out of the bullpen. Luzardo hadn't pitched in a situation like this at any point with the Phillies this season. While he was in line to start Game Five, the Phillies had to get there first.
Luzardo would do the job in the tenth, but then allow two base runners in the eleventh. That is when Thomson went to Kerkering, and the rest is history.
Phillies Notes
The top three hitters of the Phillies' lineup went a combined 1 for 14 in Game Four. Schwarber's first-inning double was the only hit from the group. Harper earned a walk, marking the only time he reached base in the game.
Harper hit .200 for the postseason with a .600 OPS. He was nonexistent for the Phillies and a big reason for another early exit. Turner had a great Game Three but was largely ineffective in the other games. He hit .235 in the series and had an OPS of .551.
Realmuto and Bohm proved to be the team's best hitters in the short series versus LA. Realmuto hit .353 with a 1.118 OPS in his three games. Bohm hit .333 with a .889 OPS in his appearances. It wasn't enough for the struggling Phillies.
The team scored eight runs in Game Three. They scored seven runs in the other three games combined.
Sanchez finished the postseason with a 2.25 earned run average in 11.2 innings pitched. Luzardo concluded with a 0-2 record, despite having a 2.35 ERA in his two appearances.
Thursday's loss might mark the end of an era for the Phillies. Schwarber, Ranger Suarez, Realmuto, and several others are now free agents. Their futures in Philadelphia remain as much of a mystery as the lack of offense in this series.
