Dodgers eliminate Phillies thanks to dramatic error in eleventh inning

Capitalizing on a costly extra-innings error, the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Philadelphia Phillies 2x1 on Thursday to punch their ticket to the MLB Championship Series.

Under pressure in the 11th inning, with the bases loaded for the Dodgers, a wild pitch by closer Orion Kerkering was enough for Los Angeles to close out an evenly matched, pitcher-dominated game.

The win gave the defending champions a 3-1 aggregate lead in this National League Divisional Series.

The Dodgers will vie for a ticket to their second straight World Series against either the Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago Cubs, who on Thursday extended the playoffs to a fifth and final game.

The Cubs won their second straight matchup by a resounding 6-0 score to tie the game 2-2 overall, leaving everything to be decided in Saturday's game in Milwaukee.

In the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays await the winner of Friday's fifth and final game between the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers.

Pitcher dominance

A day after Toronto eliminated the Yankees, World Series finalists, the Dodgers took another step toward a two-seed by knocking off the second-place overall regular-season-ranked Phillies.

The Angels had escaped Philadelphia with the opening two wins of the series but on Wednesday failed to complete the sweep in front of their home crowd against a Phillies side that used up all its firepower.

Thursday's starters, Tyler Glasnow for the Dodgers and Cristopher Sanchez for the Phillies, kept the scoreboard from moving until the seventh inning.

Without Glasnow, the Dodgers conceded the first run on a Nick Castellanos double that allowed German Max Kepler to drive through the register.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the locals put the Dominican Sanchez in serious trouble, who was retired with two runners on.

His compatriot Jhoan Durán gave an intentional walk to Japan's Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts also drew a base on balls for Justin Dean to tie the score.

Dave Roberts then sent Japanese rookie Rori Sasaki to the mound, who subdued the Phillies' top gunners, including Kyle Schwarber, who hit two home runs Wednesday.

With tensions running high, Peruvian Jesus Luzardo took to the mound and struck out the big home bombers, Ohtani, Betts and Hernandez, in a row with nine strikeouts on 11 pitches.

The Dodgers launched their final onslaught by crowding all the bases in the bottom of the eleventh inning.

Luzardo was relieved by Kerkering, with Andy Pages batting for the final out.

The Cuban, who was having a mediocre playoffs, hit a roller in the direction of Kerkering, who first missed the ball and then failed to send it to catcher JT Realmuto as Kim scored the winning run in a Dodger Stadium that exploded with joy.