Roki Sasaki becomes the glue for the Dodgers pitching staff in triumph over Phillies

The Los Angeles Dodgers are headed to the NLCS. In a 2-1 rubber match, the Dodgers eked out a win against the Philadelphia Phillies, ending the series 3-1.

Both starters, Tyler Glasnow for the Dodgers and Christopher Sanchez for the Phillies, went toe-to-toe in an epic pitchers’ duel. Glasnow managed six innings without surrendering a run. Sanchez had done the same before coming undone in the seventh. After giving up a walk to Alex Call and a single to Enrique Hernandez, Phillies manager Rob Thomson pulled him after 6.1 innings in favor of flame-throwing closer Jhoan Duran. Duran would intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani to load the bases, then ended up walking Mookie Betts to score their first run of the game.

The action tied the game right after the Phillies went up in the top of the seventh. Emmet Sheehan came on in relief of Glasnow, committed an error while covering first in what should have been a double play. The throw from Betts sailed past him into the first dugout, sending Max Kepler to second. Sheehan would allow the Phillies only run.

Finally, in the 11th inning, the Dodgers pushed their way through. On the mound for the Phillies, Orion Kerkering loaded the bases with two outs. Andy Pages grounded a ball back to Kerkering, who briefly bobbled it, and instead of throwing to first, air-mailed it home, sending it flying over catcher J.T. Realmuto’s head and sending the Dodgers to the NLCS on an error-induced walk-off. But what shouldn’t be lost in the low-scoring win was the performance of the Dodgers closer.

Roki Sasaki silences the Phillies in crucial relief appearance

The Dodgers bullpen isn’t known for reliability. This made Sasaki’s appearance pivotal. Sasaki had already been a hero this postseason, bringing stability to the closer’s role. But this time, he really outdid himself.

Manager Dave Roberts brought in Sasaki to face the Phillies in the eighth. Against the powerful Phillies lineup, Sasaki pitched three clean innings without surrendering a hit or a walk, recording two strikeouts on the night. Roberts then handed the ball to Alex Vesia for the top of the 11th inning with no need to delve through the relief corps any further.