‘It's the worst feeling': Another Phillies season ends far too soon originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
LOS ANGELES – To a man in the Phillies’ tiny clubhouse following their 11-inning, season-ending 2-1 loss to the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, it didn’t come down to pitcher Orion Kerkering throwing the ball errantly towards home with the bases loaded after he bobbled a come-back grounder, allowing the winning run to score. That was just a play in the series, in which the Dodgers advanced by winning three of four. There were other opportunities missed, hits that weren’t had, runners that were left stranded, plays that weren’t executed. Not a ton of them, as this was a really well played series between two of the best in baseball, but enough that putting the series loss on that one play wasn’t justified, in their eyes.
A wonderful pitcher’s duel in which both teams got terrific outings from their starters, multiple pressure packed innings from their relievers and splendid defensive gems, ended on a play that will be remembered for a long time in the Philadelphia area.
Kerkering came into the game in the 11th with two outs and runners on first and third. After walking Kike Hernandez, Kerkering got a swinging strike on Andy Pages with a 97 mph sinker. Pages then hit the next pitch right back to Kerkering, who bobbled the grounder but still had plenty of time to get the out at first, with catcher J.T. Realmuto calmly pointing that way. But the moment got to Kerkering, and when he gathered the ball, he threw it well wide of Realmuto at home and the Dodgers advanced to the NLCS with the hard-fought win.
“Just kind of the pressure got to me. Just in the moment,” said a distraught Kerkering.
As many said throughout the somber clubhouse following their final game of the season, that play didn’t define the series. Their top three hitters in Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper were offensively inept again Thursday, going 1-for-14 with four strikeouts and three runners left on base. There was a bases-loaded walk by Jhoan Duran that tied the game in the seventh inning after the Phillies purposely loaded the bases by intentionally walking Shohei Ohtani. There were seven runners left on base, a wasted wonderful starting outing from Cristopher Sanchez and a few more tidbits here and there. And that’s just Game Four. Add to that the many chances the Phillies had to not get into a 2-0 hole with losses at home to begin the series and the contemplation among the players makes sense.
“You either win or lose,” said Turner, who went 4-for-17 in the series with three RBI. “I don’t care how it ends, who it is, what it is. It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day losing sucks. It’s the worst feeling. It sucks. I felt like we played a really good team and we played really clean baseball for a lot of innings. I felt like we had some more opportunities offensively, myself included. If those things go one way or the other in a few of these games, who knows what happens. We lost and we have to do better.
“When you’re facing elimination, you can’t afford to have a single bad game or really a single bad at-bat. They all count. They all feel really big. Who knows what happens if you hit a single here or there or get a walk here or there. Who knows what happens. I think we all feel that. We want to be that person up there in those situations and we didn’t get it done. That’s on me and on us.”
The Phillies took the lead on Thursday in the seventh when Max Kepler scored on an RBI double by Nick Castellanos down the left field line. It was the first run of the game and appeared as if it may be enough to even the series and send it back to Philadelphia.
But it was quickly wiped out in the bottom of the inning, amid a very controversial call. Sanchez got Will Smith to ground out to short on a wonderful play by Turner. Then, after a missed called third strike by home plate umpire Mark Wegner, Alex Call walked. Sanchez then gave up a single to Kike Hernandez, and his day was over. On his way off the mound, he had some words for Wegner, who answered back to Sanchez.
“He knows he missed it because he told me and he apologized to me,” said Sanchez. “But a lot of pressure, important game, important situation, you can’t miss those things. You can’t miss those calls. I get it with the added pressure and all, but the pitch was a strike. So that’s going to stick in the back of his mind, there.”
Manager Rob Thomson brought in closer Duran to close out the inning and he got Pages to ground out to first, putting runners on second and third with two outs. The Phillies then gave Ohtani the free pass to load the bases before Duran walked Mookie Betts on six pitches to bring home the tying run.
“That’s Jhoan’s first career bases loaded walk,” Thomson said. “So, you’re not expecting that.”
Just as no one involved with the Phillies expected them to be ousted by the Dodgers in four games. Though they are the defending champs and still a very solid team, many truly believed this was the Phillies year.
The hugs and tears and disappointment in the clubhouse was all there to see, with the heavy cloud of free agents Schwarber, Realmuto and Ranger Suarez hanging in the air.
“It doesn’t feel good,” said Schwarber, his lips quivering in emotion. “You make a lot of different relationships in the clubhouse. You don’t know how it’s going to work out. You just make so many personal relationships with guys and you spend how much time with these guys throughout the course of the year and they become family and you just never know how it’s going to go. These guys know how I feel about them. I got a lot of respect for the guys in here, the organization, the coaching staff, everyone, top to bottom. This is a premier organization, and a lot of people should feel very lucky that you’re playing for a team that is trying to win every single year, and you have a fan base that cares, and you have an ownership that cares, you have coaches that care.”
Schwarber has often been described as the heart and soul of the team due to his steady presence and terrific chemistry with everyone. Realmuto isn’t at all behind in those categories and everyone gravitates towards the sunny disposition of Suarez.
If this isn’t that last run that the primary core of this group has, the somberness sure made a hint that it may be.
“I’m not sure,” said Harper about the future. “J.T. is one of the best catchers in baseball. Our guys love pitching to him, throwing to him. He calls a great game. Had a great year this year, had a great postseason. Schwarbs is one of our team leaders, cornerstone of our organization. I’m not really sure what happens or what goes into this offseason or where we kind of go from here. I think those guys are going to be a main decision for us and main conversation for us as a team and as a club. We love those guys and want them back.”
Thomson, who has the backing of his players to return as this team’s manager, sang the praises of his players during a season that saw them lose their ace pitcher when Zack Wheeler went down in August, and overcame many adversities throughout the season.
“I told them after the game I appreciate what they’ve done all year,” Thomson said. “They prepared, competed, picked each other up. True professionals the entire year. I’m extremely proud of how they went about their business. That goes for the coaching staff, all the support staff. It’s a unique group of people. They win as a team they lose as a team. They support each other. As bad as you feel, it’s good to see them be there for each other.
“When this happens it’s like the entire world comes to a stop. It’s just a thud. It’s just not a good feeling. Especially the regular season, we were really good. We had a lot of wins. We expected a lot more.”
And now comes the offseason of questions and answers, players coming and going. How it all plays out will be seen over the next few months, but this sting will last for a while with this group.
“I know fans are upset, it’s warranted,” said Harper. “We’re upset in here as well. Our daily life is Philly baseball. This is our family in here. This is what we do. We want to win not just for ourselves but for everybody that watches us play as a fan base and everything else. I understand what they’re going through. I’ve lost many playoff series and many games in the playoffs and it’s not fun. I want it more than probably a lot of people. I want to hold that trophy and that’s the goal every single time you get into spring training and that’s going to be the goal for us going into spring training this year.”
For now, that just doesn’t resonate for many. Not yet, at least.
