Phillies Lose Heartbreaking Extra Inning Game To Dodgers 2-1, Ending 2025 Playoff Run
Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos (8) looks on from the dugout during game three of the NLDS of the 2025 MLB playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
The Phillies’ 2025 season is over.
It’s been a rollercoaster week of emotions for Phillies fans as the hype for their NLDS matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers has been up and down. It went from the top of the mountain to dead in the water to we’re climbing back up, all in just a few days. The roller coaster reached a new level as Game 4 was an 11-inning thriller that ultimately ended in heartbreak for the Phillies.
Getting to that game was a challenge for the Fightins as they had to do exactly what the Dodgers went and did to them in the first two games: go on the road and win two games. After winning Game 3 with ease, for Game 4, the Phillies gave the ball to the starting pitcher who has been their workhorse not only down the stretch, but for the majority of their season, Cristopher Sanchez. Sanchez was dominant in his first start of the series, going 5.2 innings, striking out eight, but allowed two runs.
Despite it being his scheduled day to pitch, the Dodgers went with right-hander Tyler Glasnow on the bump. While this is his first postseason start, Glasnow pitched earlier this series in relief in Game 1. In that outing, Glasnow pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings, allowing two hits, no earned runs, while walking and striking out two.
Glasnow ran into trouble right out of the gate as Kyle Schwarber carried over his impressive hitting from the night before, smacking a double down the right field line for the first hit of the game. A groundout from Bryce Harper moved him to third, and a walk from Alec Bohm put runners on the corners with two outs for Brandon Marsh. With a prime opportunity to put early runs on the board, Marsh failed to even put a ball in play, striking out on a 99 mph fastball to end the inning.
Sanchez made easy work of the top of the Dodgers’ order in the first, as did Glasnow with the middle of the Phillies order in the second. Freddie Freeman, a player who has been relatively quiet this series, recorded a bullet single to lead off the second, putting the pressure on Sanchez early. However, he battled around it, thanks to some help in left from Max Kepler on a diving grab and a huge 5-4-3 double play to end the frame.
While the second inning saw some pressure from the Dodgers, the third seemed even worse. Sanchez got ahead in the count against the leadoff hitter, Alex Call, but a hit by pitch forced him on for an early runner. A forceout from Kíke Hernandez and a strikeout to Andy Pages gave Sanchez two quick outs, and he nearly had the third from Ohtani, but Bohm missed an inning-ending grounder, putting runners on the corners for Mookie Betts. Betts went after the first pitch, smoking one to first, and a diving stop by Harper ended the inning.
Both teams went scoreless in the fourth and fifth, and in the top of the sixth, the Phillies got a two-out single from Bohm, but another strikeout from Marsh ended the inning, giving Glasnow six scoreless innings.
While they threatened multiple times throughout the game, Sanchez’s toughest inning no doubt came in the bottom of the sixth. He picked up out number one thanks to a strikeout from Ohtani, but the right-handed hitters behind him came up big time.
Betts and Teoscar Hernandez smacked back-to-back singles, putting two runners on with only one out. Freeman grounded into a forceout, putting runners on the corners, and Tommy Edman dug in with a chance to break the game open. After a seven-pitch battle, Sanchez forced a weak grounder back to him from Edman, and he tossed it to first to end the inning with the game still tied at zero.
Emmett Sheehan came on in relief for Glasnow, and right away, the Phillies were seeing him way better than they saw Glasnow. J.T. Realmuto led off the inning with a single to center, and Kepler grounded into a force out, but a bad throw from Betts into the dugout put Kepler in scoring position.
Up came Nick Castellanos with a chance to flip the game. On the fourth pitch of his at-bat, Castellanos ripped an RBI double past the third base bag, down the left field line, bringing in the first run of the game and, more importantly, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
One run was all they got after a flyout from Bryson Stott and a strikeout from Turner. Sanchez went back out for the seventh inning and got a quick first out thanks to a sensational diving grab from Turner. Unfortunately for Sanchez, that was the only out he would record as he would walk Call and Hernandez singled to right, forcing Rob Thomson to go to his bullpen.
Jhoan Duran came on the get out of the jam and picked up a huge strikeout against Pages for out number two. With Ohtani due up next, they intentionally walked him to give Duran the righty-righty matchup against Betts. However, Duran got behind early, and he forced a walk, bringing in a run, to tie the game at one. With the game tied once again, Duran kept it at that, picking up a strikeout from Hernandez to end the inning.
Roki Sasaki was on the mound for the Dodgers, and he sent the Phillies down 1-2-3 in the eighth, and with Duran back out for the bottom of the inning, he did the same, picking up a pair of strikeouts. In the ninth, the Phillies’ bats continued to go quiet, with three unproductive at-bats. Matt Strahm relieved Duran after 1.2 innings of work, and despite struggling in his previous appearances, Strahm pitched an easy 1-2-3 inning to send the game to extras.
Sosaki remained in the game in the 10th and continued to look unhittable, sending the Phillies down 1-2-3 for the third inning in a row. Projected Game 5 starter Jesús Luzardo was next into the game, as the Phillies needed any help they could to pick up the win. Luzardo pitched a scoreless 10th inning, picking up an easy strikeout against Ohtani, a flyout to Betts, and another strikeout to Hernandez.
The Dodgers turned to their top left-hander in the top of the 11th, Alex Vesia. Vesia picked up a quick groundout from Schwarber, but walked Harper, putting the tying run on base. Bohm stepped up and smoked a liner to deep centerfield, but was caught by Pages. With the lefty staying in, Harrison Bader pinch-hit for Marsh, and Bader battled, going to a 10-pitch at-bat before striking out to end the inning.
Freeman led off the bottom of the inning against Luzardo, who was back out for his second inning of work. Luzardo sent Freeman down on strikes, but allowed singles to Edman and Max Muncy, putting two runners on. With two right-handers coming up and two outs, Thomson went to Orion Kerkering to get the remaining out.
However, Kerkering walked the leadoff man to load the bases. With Pages up, he dribbled a ball back to Kerkering at the mound. He fumbled the ball, and instead of throwing the runner out at first, Kerkering threw a wild throw home, past Realmuto, allowing the winning run to score, with the Dodgers winning 2-1, and more importantly winning the series 3-1, eliminating the Phillies.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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