LOS ANGELES — Philadelphia Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering booted a groundball and threw wildly to home plate, when an easier out was available at first base, handing the Los Angeles Dodgers a series-clinching 2-1 walk-off win Thursday night in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. Kerkering’s error on Andy Pages’ 40-foot bouncer came with two outs and the bases loaded in the 11th inning at Dodger Stadium, ending a madcap game and series between two NL titans.

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The Dodgers, vying to be the league’s first back-to-back World Series champion in a quarter century, advance to face the Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series.

The game was a pitchers’ duel until the seventh inning, when Nick Castellanos roped a run-scoring double to left field, and the Dodgers answered with Mookie Betts drawing a bases-loaded, two-out, full-count walk against Phillies closer Jhoan Duran. As both managers emptied the tank, Duran covered five outs, and Dodgers rookie closer Roki Sasaki threw three perfect innings.

A WALK-OFF TO MOVE ON TO THE NLCS. pic.twitter.com/JPveGti3Nu — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 10, 2025

Phillies manager Rob Thomson went to Kerkering with two outs in the 11th. The right-hander walked Kiké Hernández, then induced the ill-fated dribbler off the bat of Pages.

A strange, brutal ending for Kerkering

The enduring image of this series will be of Kerkering bent over at the waist, staring into the infield grass as the D