Just when there was a sign of life from the Philadelphia Phillies, it all came crashing down in Game 4 of the NLDS. The 2025 season and the current version of the club may never be the same after another postseason that's fallen short of a World Series title.
The ball was in reliever Orion Kerkering's hands on the final play of the game, a bouncing ball back to the mound. It was the bottom of the 11th inning with the game tied 1-1 and the Phillies only needing one more out to get out of a bases-loaded jam. Kerkering, with a force play at any base, panicked and sailed the ball over J.T. Realmuto's head at home plate, ending the season on a walk-off loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That throw sent the Phillies home and the Dodgers onto the NLCS. No one felt worse for what happened on that play than Kerkering.
“It just hit off my foot,” Kerkering said after the game. “Once that pressure got to me, I thought it was a faster throw to J.T. [Realmuto], a little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to Bryce [Harper].”
Orion Kerkering was very candid after his miscue.
— On Pattison (@OnPattison) October 10, 2025
(Via @AntSanPhilly) pic.twitter.com/kSUqycK35f
Phillies fans need to wrap their arms around Orion Kerkering like players did after misplay ends the season
It was truly a heartbreaking moment for Kerkering to have the play in front of him and make the mental mistake in a panic move. Phillies manager Rob Thomson feels for his pitcher and knows it wasn't just on him for the loss, per John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“Just keep his head up,” Thomson said on what he told Kerkering after the game, per Clark. “He just got caught up in the moment a little bit. Coming down the stretch there, he pitched so well for us. 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.”
“Just keep his head up. He just got caught up in the moment a little bit. Coming down the stretch there, he pitched so well for us. 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.”
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 10, 2025
Rob Thomson on what he told Orion… pic.twitter.com/aluHvCdzFE
It's hard to think in the moment of all the chaos surrounding a heartbreaking season-ending error, but Kerkering doesn't deserve for this moment to define his career. The 24-year-old made a mistake, but he'll grow from it.
Veteran Nick Castellanos was the first player after Realmuto to get to Kerkering on the field, after sprinting in from right field, per MLB.com's Paul Casella.
"That's second nature. That's instinct,” Castellanos said about running to Kerkering, per Casella. “I understand what he's feeling. Not the exact emotions, but I can see them. I didn't even have to think twice about it, that's where I needed to run to. I just told him to keep his head up. And I wanted to be next to him while he walked off the field, just so he knows he's not alone in that moment.”
Free agent Kyle Schwarber also weighed in after the game, per Michael Barkann of NBC Sports Philadelphia, saying that everyone goes through failures. This is just one of those moments for him now.
"One play shouldn't define someone's career," Schwarber said, per Barkann. "I've had tons of failure in my career. It's just the way it is you have to learn from it have to be better for it and I don't think it's going to define his career at all. Blip on the radar right now."
The beauty and agony of the MLB playoffs is that these games are heightened with primetime viewing and scrutiny. It's also where moments like this can reach everyone in the baseball universe all at once. Even after eliminating the Phillies and with another NLCS berth secured, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shared some kind words for Kerkering.
“It's brutal,” Roberts said, per Clark. “Obviously, they played great defense tonight. It's one of those things that it's a PFP, a pitcher's fielding practice. He's done it a thousand times. And right there he was so focused, I'm sure, on just getting the hitter and just sort of forgot the outs and the situation. Kerkering is a stud. And you definitely feel for a player. I'm obviously happy that we won. But, yeah, he's had a heck of a year, and he's a heck of a pitcher.”
The moment couldn't have been bigger for the Phillies to fall yet again in the NLDS after another first-round bye. That moment from Kerkering was only one mistake he made in the four games played against the Dodgers. Other things went wrong for the Phillies to fall in this fashion. It's not all on his shoulders. His teammates know that, and the rest of the fan base will realize that soon enough.