There aren't many worse ways to end a season than what happened at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night.
Tied 1-1 in the 11th inning with two outs and the bases loaded, Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering did his job. He got Andy Pages to tap a soft grounder back to the mound for what should have been an easy third out.
Well, it wasn't. Kerkering panicked and couldn't decide if he was going to throw the ball to first base or to home plate for the force out. At the last possible moment, he awkwardly fired an errant throw past catcher JT Realmuto, and base runner Hyeseong Kim—who initially missed the bag—tapped home plate for a walk-off 2-1 win.
The Dodgers are heading to the NLCS, and the Phillies are packing their bags for vacation—all because of one errant throw.
According to Jayson Stark, the Phillies' series loss to the Dodgers in four games is the first postseason series in MLB history to end on a walk-off error.
The MLB world could not believe their eyes:
Just a brutal way to end a season, especially for a championship-contending team like the Phillies.
The Dodgers will face the winner of the NLDS series between the Brewers and Cubs in the NLCS.