By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
Rafu Sports Editor
The return home to Hokkaido is officially on hold.
Yuto Takashima and his family made the long trip from Japan’s northernmost main island specifically to attend Thursday’s Game 4 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium, completely aware before they left home that it might not even be played.
“We arrived yesterday – Wednesday afternoon,” Takashima said while he and his family enjoyed a store-bought salad and snacks they brought to the left-field pavilion. He, his wife and their two young kids sat in the sun-drenched bleachers as the visiting Philadelphia Phillies took batting practice.
The crazy part of this trek is the fact that the Dodgers had lost on Wednesday, extending their series to Thursday. Takashima said if that had been the case, they would have rested for a few days before heading home.
As jet-lagged as the kids were, hopefully they lasted until the end of Thursday’s game, when the fans were treated to one of the zaniest finishes in playoff history, a 2-1 series-clinching win that sends the Dodgers to the next round of the playoffs.
Leading two games to one in the best-of-five series, the Dodgers needed a win to eliminate the Phillies and advance to the NL Championship Series, the next step in defense of their 2024 World Series title.
Afternoon playoff baseball is a treat in itself, with the field sun-drenched at first and slowing giving way to the consuming shadows of sundown. The pitching on both sides was superb: Tyler Glasnow for the Dodgers versus Philadelphia ace Christopher Sanchez, and the matchup lived up to the hype, with both hurlers in control.
The adage of baseball being a game of inches was never truer than was displayed in Game 4. Dodgers reliever Emmett Sheehan simply missed the accurate relay throw on a double-play attempt that allowed a runner to advance to second and eventually score the game’s first run.
Allowing free baserunners is another cardinal sin of the game. A full-count fastball to Mookie Betts with the bases loaded just missed the top of the strike zone to force in the tying run for L.A., and a walk to load the bases in in the 11th inning set up the winning run.
In both instances, we’re probably talking about the length of a finger.
Perhaps the most crucial unwritten rule of the game – most glaring during the playoffs – is never to give the opposing team extra outs. That proved to be the difference in an otherwise defensive gem, notably for the Phils.
After repeated chances to score and into extra innings, the game remained tied at 1-1 when the Dodgers managed to load the bases in the bottom of the 11th. The Phillies’ dependable reliever Orion Kerkering induced Andy Pages to hit a broken-bat comebacker directly to his ankles.
Kerkering bobbled it momentarily, but still had time to toss to first ahead of the sprinting Pages, end the threat and send the game into the 12th inning.
Yeah, that didn’t happen.
Instead, Kerkering – perhaps in a panic of the moment made all the more chaotic by the 50,000 screaming Dodgers fans – made the baffling decision to throw home, in an attempt to force out pinch-runner Hye-seong Kim. His throw of 45-50 feet wasn’t even close, sailing far right and well out of the reach of catcher JT Realmuto.
The speedy Kim had originally missed touching home plate by a toe, but had ample time to scurry back to step on it, as the ball dribbled harmlessly near the Dodgers’ on-deck circle. By that time, the Dodger players had emptied their dugout and rushed the field, right past Kerkering, who was doubled over, frozen with his hands on his knees.
“The pressure got to me. I just thought it’s a little faster throw to JT, a little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to [first base],” Kerkering said afterwards. “Just a horsesh*t throw.”
Dodgers manager had empathy and praise for Kerkering, calling him “a stud.”
“It’s brutal. 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,” Roberts said. “Right there he was so focused, I’m sure, on just getting the hitter and just sort of forgot the outs and the situation.
“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.”
Kim was inserted into the game for infielder Tommy Edman, who singled to open the bottom of the 11th, but is still nursing an injured ankle. Kim’s insertion harkened back to another famous pinch-running assignment, albeit somewhat less dramatic: the same Dave Roberts’ stolen base that propelled the Boston Red Sox to an improbable comeback win over the New York Yankees 2004 American League Championship Series.
“This tonight didn’t have anywhere near the same level of importance, but I made sure to be careful,” Kim said through a translator amid the champagne celebration in the Dodgers’ clubhouse. “I knew what my role is for this postseason, so I’ve been doing a lot of studying, watching video of pitchers so I can be ready.”
Just ahead of the game-ending play, Kim got a message into his ear from third-base coach Dino Ebel. Asked what Ebel had said, Kim smiled and said in English, “Oh, that’s a secret.”
Whereas Kerkering will live with the stain of the moment for the long winter ahead – and possibly longer – the pitching credentials of the Dodgers’ starter-turned-closer Roki Sasaki continue to shine. The rookie Japanese right-hander tossed three perfect innings in relief on Thursday, making it five and one-third scoreless frames in the postseason, while allowing only a single baserunner.
“Oh, my gosh. You’re talking about one of the great all-time appearances out of the [bullpen] that I can remember,” Roberts said of Sasaki, who missed much of the season with a shoulder injury and did not rejoin the team until September. “Certainly given where he started this year, what he is as a starting pitcher, to go out there and not only go one inning, two innings and then three innings, and to do what he did, gave us a huge boost.”
Sasaki said a major factor in his success since returning has been his level of confidence.
“I just felt like my fastball [velocity] was back to where it used to be, and the command of the fastball was where I wanted it to be as well,” he said, after stymieing Phillies hitters with his fastball at or near 100 mph, paired with a drop-off-the-table forkball. “So I think that really helps with the off-speed, and because of that I do really feel confident to be able to attack in the zone.”
The 22-year-old, nicknamed the “Monster of the Reiwa Era” in Japan, said his experience in with the national team in the World Baseball Classic and the Olympics helped him develop a tolerance for pressure situations.
Sasaki’s emergence as a dominant presence in relief is beyond a welcomed development, as the Dodger relievers faltered repeatedly toward the end of the regular season. The troubles seem to be most common in the eighth inning of games, including Clayton Kershaw’s meltdown in Game 3 on Wednesday, an 8-2 loss for L.A.
The Dodgers will begin the NL Championship Series on Monday, though their opponent has yet to be determined. The Chicago Cubs staved off elimination on Thursday, sending their division series against the Brewers back to Milwaukee for a decisive Game 5 on Saturday.
Taking into account their respective regular-season records, the best-of-seven NLCS will start in L.A. if the Cubs prevail, or in Milwaukee if the Brewers advance. Either way, Roberts was leaning toward Shohei Ohtani starting on the mound for the opener.
“We’re going to talk about that, but that’s probably the case,” Roberts said.