The Los Angeles easily defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League District Series, advancing to the National League Championship Series.
The won the series 3-1 and will now travel to Milwaukee to face the Brewers or host the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of the NLCS starting Monday, October 13th.
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The have advanced to the NLCS for the fourth time in the past six seasons and seventh time in the past 10 seasons.
It was a pitching battle between Tyler Glasnow and Christopher Sanchez early in Los Angeles. Glasnow had a strong performance for LA, pitching six scoreless innings, throwing 83 pitches, allowing two hits, zero runs, three walks, and eight strikeouts. manager Dave Roberts said Glasnow was suffering from cramps, which caused him to be ejected after the sixth inning.
read more: ‘ Dave Roberts reveals why he excluded Tyler Glasnow from Game 4 of the NLDS
As for Sanchez, he once again showed an amazing performance. The southpaw was as good as Glasnow, pitching 6.1 innings, throwing 95 pitches, allowing five hits, one earned run, one walk, and five strikeouts.
In the top of the seventh inning, right-handed pitcher Emmett Sheehan had some trouble coming out of the bullpen. The 25-year-old allowed two hits, one of which led to the game’s first run. Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos hit a double over left field, bringing in Max Kepler.
The fought back in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game. With the bases loaded for Los Angeles, Mookie Betts took a methodical approach to the plate, giving up a walk to Phillies relief pitcher Joan Duran.
The Phillies and reached a stalemate. While the ‘ offensive line was not up to par, Los Angeles turned its attention to star pitcher, rookie Aki Sasaki. Sasaki has been amazing throughout the postseason. He pitched three innings on Thursday and was lights out. He had two strikeouts on 36 pitches, no hits, and no walks.
The Japanese sensation has been a difference-maker for the , and they hope that continues to be the case as Los Angeles is eight wins away from ninth place in the title.
The sealed the deal in the 11th inning. The posed a threat with the bases loaded. Outfielder Andy Pages reached base with two outs and was hit by a pitch by Phillies relief pitcher Orion Kirkeling.
Kerkeling fumbled the ball and instead of throwing it to first base for the final out of the inning, he threw it home, allowing Hyesung Kim to score the final RBI of the game and the series.
Here are all the best celebrations from the post-game frenzy.
Photo credit: Kiyomio-Imagn Images
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