Dodgers qualify for the 2025 NLCS

Max Muncy (Ian D'Andrea, Wikimedia Commons)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the second Major League Baseball franchise to qualify for the League Championship Series in 2025. On Thursday, they followed the Toronto Blue Jays, who qualified on Wednesday.

In game four at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in 11 innings to win the National League Divisional Series three games to one. This was the second game in the 2025 Major League Baseball postseason that went to extra innings. The first was on Saturday as the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 in game one of the American League Divisional Series.

The Dodgers win over the Phillies on Thursday was an impressive pitching duel. There was no scoring for the first six innings as Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez and Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow both had quality starts. The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning on a RBI double by Nick Castellanos, which scored Max Kepler. The Dodgers responded in the bottom of the seventh inning as Mookie Betts tied the game on a bases loaded walk.

How the Dodgers got the win was crazy. In the bottom of the 11th inning, the bases were loaded when a ground ball went back to Phillies starting pitcher Orion Kerkering. The ball was bobbled by Kerkering, and instead of making the easy throw to first base, he panicked, threw home and Dodgers pinch runner Hyeseong Kim was safe.

Throughout the series, the top Dodger offensively was Max Muncy (pictured above). He batted  .444 in the series (four hits in nine at bats), and was one of seven Dodgers players in game four with one base hit.

There are two game fives the next two days. On Friday, Seattle Mariners will host the Detroit Tigers, and on Saturday, the Milwaukee Brewers will host the Chicago Cubs in elimination games.