LOS ANGELES — For all the Dodgers’ dress rehearsal during the regular season, it all came down to one play in the World Series Thursday night. Or, rather, a miscue. Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering induced a soft bouncer off Andy Pages to send him home for the tying run in the 11th inning against the Dodgers, and it was mistakenly ruled a hit by umpire Gerry Davis. That blunder, which seemed more in line with a Bill Buckner gaffe in the 1986 World Series, allowed the Dodgers to win 2-1 and advance to the NLCS for a second straight year.
LOS ANGELES
As the champagne was flowing at Dodger Stadium and the Commissioner’s Trophy was inching closer, Freddie Freeman was looking for a slam dunk to seal the win. But the defending champs wouldn’t need to go that far.
The embattled slugger, who entered the World Series hitting just.152 in the playoffs, smacked a first-pitch fastball from Jack Flaherty 403 feet into the right-field seats, turning Yankee Stadium into a bobbing sea of bedlam.
Then, the Dodgers called on Game 3 winner Walker Buehler to ward off a potential big inning. And Buehler, who was summoned on three days’ rest and will start Game 5 if the Series heads back to Los Angeles, did the job. He got Giancarlo Stanton to fly out and Anthony Rizzo to strike out to preserve the victory. The Dodgers are one victory away from their first back-to-back World Series titles since 1988 and 1989.