Since losing in the World Series in 2022, each of the Philadelphia Phillies' postseason exits has been more and more deflating. In each of the past two postseasons, the Phillies failed to advance out of the NLDS. Most recently, the club was knocked out in Los Angeles by the Dodgers in truly excruciating fashion.
While yes, Orion Kerkering is the scapegoat because of his poor decision and errant throw to home plate in the bottom of the 11th inning, the series was lost in so many other ways.
Phillies' offensive woes are most at fault for losing NLDS
It can be argued that the final play of the game should not have even mattered. The Phillies offense was lackadaisical for much of the series. When a team's stars fail to produce, not much can be expected in a big-time postseason series.
The Phillies' top three hitters, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper went a combined 10-for-48 (.208 batting average) in the NLDS. Seven of those hits came in Game 3, the lone victory for the Fightins.
Outside of the Game 3 offensive explosion, the bats were silenced by a highly talented Dodgers pitching staff.
In the series finale, the Phillies mustered just one run against Dodgers pitchers through 11 innings despite having a few different opportunities to score. Had they plated another run or two, the contest would have never made it that far and Game 5 would be on the horizon back in Philadelphia.
Phillies' bullpen was shaky in yet another NLDS
In Game 1, the Phillies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Cristopher Sánchez was pulled after 5 2/3 frames. David Robertson came in and surrendered two earned runs and then Matt Strahm allowed a three run home run to Teoscar Hernández in the seventh inning which put the Dodgers on top. The offense could not respond.
The second game of the NLDS saw Jesús Luzardo toss six innings of two-run baseball. Kerkering then entered in the seventh and allowed two more runs to score (one of which was an inherited run allowed by Strahm). The Phillies offense tried to answer but ultimately fell one run shy of a come back.
Then in Game 4, Jhoan Duran allowed the game-tying run to score on a bases-loaded walk after Sánchez was lifted following another great start. In the 11th inning, Luzardo allowed singles to Tommy Edman and Freddie Freeman which set up the series-ending mishap by Kerkering.
The relievers did not shut down the Dodgers offense when they needed to and it came back to bite the Phillies. With a lack of offensive production, the bullpen had to be perfect and they weren't.
Rob Thomson made some questionable managerial decisions
Manager Rob Thomson took some heat after Games 1 and 2. Mainly due to bullpen management. For example, removing Sánchez in the series opener drew some criticism.
One decision that was criticized yet worked out was the manager's choice to start Aaron Nola in Game 3 of the NLDS, followed by Ranger Suárez. Both pitchers kept the Dodgers' offense at bay. Could you imagine the reaction, though, if Nola had gotten shelled?
What worked for Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts was not always employed by Thomson. The opposing skipper used extra starters in relief and they shut down the Phillies' offense. Thomson trusted his relievers to a fault as they were unable to hold leads or mitigate damage.
Something that Thomson got right after the devastating loss was that the early exit was a team failure. After the game he reiterated that this early exit was not all on his 24-year-old reliever, per Paul Casella of MLB.com.
“Just keep his head up,” Thomson said when asked what he said to Kerkering in those six seconds immediately after the game, per Casella. “He just got caught up in the moment a little bit. … I feel for him because he's putting it all on his shoulders. But we win as a team and we lose as a team.”
It certainly feels that this core group may have played their last game together. Bringing it back will not suffice anymore. This group has had their chances and they have not capitalized. In fact, it seems they are going backwards.
Blame can be tossed around in many directions, but it seems that when Yordan Álvarez ended the hopes of a World Series victory in Game 6 back in 2022, the lights went out. There was hope and promise that each postseason would be different.
The following playoff appearances were different, just not in the way the Phillies and their fans would have hoped.