3 Phillies most responsible for season-ending NLDS Game 4 loss to Dodgers

After the Philadelphia Phillies lost the NLDS on Thursday and are out of the playoffs too early, again, fans are looking around for the culprits most responsible for ending the season after just four postseason games. While Phillies fans may not be able to agree on which three players should shoulder the blame for the heartbreaking loss, there are plenty of options to choose from.

The Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers played a close, entertaining Game 4 which either team could have won. The game did not feature many runs, with a 2-1 final, and needed to be decided in extra innings. The game ended unpredictably on an 11th-inning walk-off error.

With the Phillies' year officially over, the club will reflect on what it could have done differently in the NLDS. They underwhelmed in the same round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year and you can argue that there are multiple players responsible for the loss that ended the season.

3 Phillies most responsible for season-ending NLDS Game 4 loss to Dodgers

Jhoan Duran

Jhoan Duran was the first pitcher used in relief of starter Cristopher Sánchez. Manager Rob Thomson decided to use the team's closer to keep the Dodgers off the scoreboard with two runners on base and one out in the seventh inning.

Duran succeeded in getting out of the inning but not without making Phillies fans sweat and giving up his team's 1-0 lead. After Andy Pages grounded out, advancing the runners to second and third, Duran intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani. With the bases loaded, he walked Mookie Betts, tying the game. He struck out Teoscar Hernández in a big out to end the inning.

While he ended up pitching 1 2/3 innings, Duran could not prevent the Dodgers from scoring that one crucial run. Although, it could have been much worse for the Phillies if Hernández had gotten a hit in his at-bat. Duran finished with three strikeouts but walked two but will shoulder the blame for letting the Dodgers tie the game.

Orion Kerkering

Orion Kerkering entered Game 4 at a challenging time, like Duran. Jesús Luzardo allowed two runners on base in the bottom of the 11th as a reliever before manager Rob Thomson made a pitching change and put in Kerkering.

Max Muncy, who had singled off Luzardo, advanced to second base on defensive indifference. Kerkering then allowed a walk to Enrique Hernández to load the bases before Andy Pages hit a ball back to the reliever, who was unable to pick it up initially.

Kerkering hurriedly picked up the ball and made a throw that went wide of J.T. Realmuto in an attempt to force out Hyeseong Kim at home plate. The Phillies reliever had a much better chance to record the third out of the inning if he had thrown the ball to first base.

Considering Kerkering could not pick the ball up initially, he could have rushed a throw to first base that would have gone wide of Harper, and the Dodgers would have won the game and series anyway. Kerkering is not credited with the loss. However, despite Realmuto's urging the pitcher to throw the ball to first, the reliever's error in decision-making ended the Phillies' season.

The entire Phillies offense

Aside from Game 3 of the NLDS, the Phillies' offense was a disappointment for the second consecutive postseason. Technically, the bats have been lackluster in the playoffs for two years since Game 6 of the 2023 National League Championship Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Phillies batters struggled in Games 1 and 2 against Dodgers pitching. After a breakout Game 3 that kept their season alive, Philly reverted to its lackluster offense in Game 4. Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow finished with eight strikeouts in six innings pitched. Reliever Roki Sasaki finished with two strikeouts and did not allow a walk or hit in three innings of relief.

Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Harper went a combined 1-for-14 in the final game of the season. Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos and Realmuto had one hit each. Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott, Turner and Schwarber each had two strikeouts. Realmuto, Max Kepler, Nick Castellanos and pinch-hitter Harrison Bader finished with one strikeout each.

Is it surprising that the Phillies' offense reverted to its struggles in Game 4 after what it showed in Games 1 and 2? No. Is it disappointing and frustrating? Absolutely.

Kerkering made a bad play that officially ended the Phillies' season. However, the offense is more at fault, considering its previous struggles earlier in the series. They could have built off their Game 3 momentum but did not, and it's one of the primary reasons Philadelphia lost in the NLDS for a second consecutive year.