Gibson most notably accomplished this feat in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Battling separate knee and hamstring injuries, he was able to triumphantly rise to the occasion as a pinch-hitter in the bottom half of the ninth inning. Having worked a full count against Oakland Athletics closer Dennis Eckersley, Gibson came through with a two-out, two-run walk-off home run to propel the Dodgers to a 5-4 victory and 1-0 series lead in the Fall Classic.
What an incredible first two weeks of the 2025 MLB playoffs we've had. There was the instant classic 15-inning Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, sending Seattle to its first American League Championship Series since 2001. We saw the Philadelphia Phillies be eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers on a bases-loaded error in the 11th inning. We watched the Toronto Blue Jays stomp past the New York Yankees with a barrage of scoring.
Smith has been adamant he wants to remain as the Dodgers' catcher, even after suffering a hand injury which kept him sidelined for most of September. He didn't entertain the idea of filling in as the team's designated hitter during his recovery. "We've got a pretty good DH," Smith said, referring to three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. "I think we're pretty set on that."
In those buoyant days of spring, Dodgers fans blithely predicted their star-studded and well-financed team would win, say, 125 games. No major league team had won more than 116 but, if the Dodgers were going to ruin baseball, they would have a damn good time doing it. Then the season started, and with it the ups and downs, and the injuries and the inconsistencies. The Dodgers won the National League West, of course, but with what they would consider a very modest 93 wins.
ANDERSON: It's 0 and 1. Kerkering trying to send this one to the 12th. No balls and a strike. Pages breaks his bat, Kerkering gotta find it. Throws to the plate! Oh my goodness! He throws it away! And the Dodgers have won! The Dodgers win and they are moving on to the NLCS in a most improbable finish! Pandemonium in Dodger Stadium! And your heart breaks for Orion Kerkering. The Dodgers ecstatic. This game ends in the cruelest way for the Phillies.
Tanner Scott was replaced by Justin Wrobleski on the Los Angeles Dodgers playoff roster for the National League Division Series due to injury. As a result, Scott is not eligible to pitch if the Dodgers advance to the NL Championship Series. He would be eligible to rejoin the team should they reach the World Series. Though that presumably will depend on Scott's recovery from what manager Dave Roberts described as an "abscess excision" in his lower body. Scott underwent the procedure on Wednesday night.
"I mean, when I hit it, I know it's a home run. I didn't even see where it landed. I was looking in the dugout trying to get the guys going, get back in the dugout, everyone is high-fiving. I knew I hit it good. I didn't know where it went. Eventually somebody tells me, you watch it on video where it goes. I was just more focused on our guys there. I don't care."
"I was hoping I'd be traded again because looking at the Dodger roster at the time, I thought I was going to make a career out of Triple-A baseball," Hernandez said. "(President of baseball operations) Andrew Friedman got on the phone with me and said their plans were real with me. They were looking for players like me as far as playing different positions. And I was saying to myself, 'Alright, sure. I'll believe it when I see it.'"
Despite Roki Sasaki warming up in the seventh inning and, to that point, having yet to give up an earned run in relief through his last four innings of regular season and postseason play, Roberts put right-hander Blake Treinen into the game. Through the month of September, Treinen collected a 9.64 ERA, but in 1.1 innings in the Wild Card round, allowed just one hit.
Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed reliever Brusdar Graterol confirmed that he will not be returning this season as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. "I'd like to tell all my Dodgers fanbase that I would have liked to be in the postseason but my rehabilitation hasn't been easy, so I've already changed my mindset for 2026," Graterol wrote in a post translated to English. "Thanks to everyone for always being attentive, I love you Dodgers fans."