GDT 10/9/25 Philadelphia Phillies (Sánchez, C) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (Glasnow)

[zambonir]

I think I would have preferred the Broxton/Stairs type ending.

Kerkering probably would have too.

[zambonir]

New meme format

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— Shane McNichol ( @ontheshanetrain.bsky.social ) October 9, 2025 at 10:00 PM

[zambonir]

I had made my peace with the Phillies losing this series. The Dodgers are a brutal draw and they played it close the whole way. No shame in losing.
I was, however, hoping for that loss to come in a style that wouldn't make Phillies fans act like crazy people all winter.

— Michael Baumann ( @baumann.bsky.social ) October 9, 2025 at 9:43 PM

[bkox]

Lets trade Kerkering to Colorado as punishment.

[EastFallowfield]

Zolecki:

That’s believed to be the first series-clinching walk-off reached on an error in postseason history.

Then this from optastats

The Dodgers are the second team in MLB postseason history to clinch a series on a walkoff error.

The other came 9 years ago today, when Rougned Odor's errant throw to first on an attempted double play allowed Josh Donaldson to score and the Blue Jays to sweep Texas in the ALDS.

[phillychuck]

It was a great season despite the result.

Agreed.

Yup. Our problems are very minor compared to lots of other teams. Fun team to watch for most of the year, too.

quote function didn’t work right...

[dcsman]

And while Kerkering’s mistake was awful, it was also pretty obvious that if he came into the game they were likely going to lose. He stinks pitching in back-to-back games and has a history of not performing in pressure situations.

With all that said, the real fault was the lack of hitting and some questionable managerial decisions.

Changes need to be made.

[Philsmania]

Can Kerkering realistically return next season or is he in Mich Williams territory?

[dcsman]

Honestly, I’m going with Mitch Williams territory. He’ll never live this down.

[bkox]

I dunno... Phillies phans over all seem different now versus 93.

[EDmuch]

I think you would need a supercomputer to track how many off the plate sliders Harper swung at during this series. It was sort of pathetic. I never once saw him shorten his swing with 2 strikes in order to just put the ball in play & see what happens.

[andyb]

Can Kerkering realistically return next season or is he in Mich Williams territory?

My worry too. This will be tough long term. He also still needs a better 3rd pitch and improved command.. It was a very uneven year where he underperformed his stuff.

[zambonir]

If Kerkering goes, unfortunately, it's probably more Brad Lidge after leaving Houston territory than more than Mitch Williams territory, as Mitch was cooked by then. As young and cheap as he is I think the Phillies need him to get past it. Maybe he just still needs to be in a bullpen where things go to plan and he's the 4th or 5th best reliever instead of the 2nd or 3rd. I don't think the fan pressure will be the issue though. This wasn't the World Series. And what Mitch had to deal with then, everyone has to deal with now (online).

You can't understate how much Robertson didn't work out - that Kerkering moved past him again after just one outing and then was called in for consecutive days. And Buehler wound up being the guy who never pitched. I gotta think that if Rob coached him for 10 years, he would have been trusted as Robertson and Nola were (even if one of those was a bad move and the other worked).

[David_Criss]

Kerkering is to good of a talent to not root for. He is young and learning. And cheap. Hopefully the fans give him the Turner treatment when he is introduced next season. You could tell right away he knew he screwed up and felt horrible. Losing this game was not his fault. 4 hits and only scoring one run because of an error in 11 innings, walking Ohtani, Bader being hurt, Sosa not being available, the bad call when Sanchez threw a strike - those were all the reasons. Scott bunting in game 2 and not going for the win is the reason they went into LA down 2 games to none. The team, especially the bats are the reason they are going home, not one bad play.

[zambonir]

As a professional baseball pitcher he practices and has to know the situation, and react under pressure. Given the stakes it was probably a moment where it even should have been discussed before the AB. But overall it's easier said than done. He actually did choke under pressure, but yeah it's neither the reason they really lost the series nor an unforgivable mistake.

Murphy had a good summary of it.

You could see that dreadful moment when Kerkering’s reaction began to outpace reality. Pages’ grounder struck him sharply in the foot, but it settled in plenty of time for an easy throw to first. By then, the panic had set in. He did not see J.T. Realmuto pointing toward first. He did not sense that Pages was less than halfway to first when he picked up the ball. He saw the winning run bearing down on home. Not until his wild throw home had left his hand did reality catch up. By then, the ball was sailing high and right and nowhere near its target.

“It just hit off my foot,” Kerkering said. “Once the pressure got to me, I just thought it was a faster throw to J.T., a little quicker throw than trying to throw cross the body to Bryce [Harper at first].”

Orion Kerkering learns his Phillies teammates are winners | David Murphy

[Lucky_Beagle]

From the looking on the bright side for Kerkering....even if he gets the out at first base how many people think the Phillies would have ever scored a run to win the game anyways? At least it was a tied game that ended and not a 1 run lead in which 2 runs scored making a winnable game a losing game.

[Lucky_Beagle]

Duran walked Mookie was the key....Phillies may have won without that run, although who knows how the game would have played out. I by the way was fine with the IBB. Duran had walked 3 batters in 22+ innings they said. It didn't help he got behind 2-0 and Mookie became selective (something few Phillie batters did)

[zambonir]

I can't really blame Duran for anything in what was a completely novel situation for him. That's the problem with the rigid closer/clean inning role once you finally move away from it out of necessity. Certainly it's hard to argue that they should have pitched to Ohtani with the possibility of him hitting a double or a HR. But either way, even with Duran's low number of walks, he could have also easily given up a two-run single to Mookie. Or a HR.

[Philsmania]

I can't really blame Duran for anything in what was a completely novel situation for him. That's the problem with the rigid closer/clean inning role once you finally move away from it out of necessity. Certainly it's hard to argue that they should have pitched to Ohtani with the possibility of him hitting a double or a HR. But either way, even with Duran's low number of walks, he could have also easily given up a two-run single to Mookie. Or a HR.

Plus, the home plate umpire squeezed Sanchez earlier in the inning. I was traveling so I had to listen to the game on Sirius/XM. Franske said he was squeezing Glasnow too. The home plate up was real bad.

[zambonir]

Yes depending how you view it he was either robbed of a K or "didn't get the corner." But if you need either perfect umpiring or perfect relief to win you know something else wasn't working well