MLB La Novena: The tribulations of Kerkering, Ohtani and the luck of Bad Bunny

ByDavid Mitchell
MLB La Novena: The tribulations of Kerkering, Ohtani and the luck of Bad Bunny

Orion Kerkering, Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw suffer from insomnia, while the ‘Bad Rabbit’ also surprises in the MLB postseason

NERVOUSNESSdistraction, lack of concentration, all at the same time? Whatever it was, the Philadelphia Phillies reliever made a monumental mistake that cost his team the season. Let’s go in parts, Kerkering’s first sin was a fielding mistake, followed by a huge mental error at the end of a very tight game that lasted until 11 innings. In the bottom of the 11th inning, with two outs on the board and the game tied 1-1, Hyeseong Kim, who came in as a pinch runner, was on third base, Max Muncy was at second, and Kiké Hernández, after a negotiated walk, was at first, when Andy Pagés hit a broken bat grounder toward the pitcher, apparently harmless. Kerkering failed in his first attempt to pick up the ball, then, in a second half, in a hurry and with a clouded mind, he inexplicably threw home, ignoring the instructions of catcher JT Realmuto, who clearly told him to go to the first mat. The shot was also very deflected and, even if it had been well directed, it was hardly going to put out the fast Kim. In other coordinates of the field of play, Pagés was a little more than halfway between home and first base when the pitcher secured the ball, making it the most viable option to get the last out of the inning, hang the zero, maintain the tie and force the 12th inning. What did Kerkering think in those moments? Nothing, he didn’t think, and as a consequence of that inattention, the Phillies will follow the postseason on television. There is no doubt, baseball is a box of surprises. With a weak ground ball to the pitcher, the Dodgers, current Major League champions, advanced to the Championship Series awaiting a rival between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs, who will play the fifth and final game this Friday. (— Vania Ravelo )

2. Pedro Martínez’s advice to Kerkering

IT IS LIKELY THAT Orion Kerkering spent the entire winter trying to overcome this unlikely and costly episode in his career. It will be complicated, everyone who has set foot on a baseball diamond or another sport knows how complex it is to recover from this type of mental error. However, the young Californian reliever could find guidance to overcome it in the message that the legendary Hall of Fame member and former pitcher Pedro Martínez sent him from a television set.

3. Without contribution from Ohtani, Freeman and Pagés, Dodgers to Championship Series

DODGERS RETURNS TO the National League Championship Series and the possibility of defending its World Series champion title is approaching. There is no need to rush, they still have to overcome the Cubs or Brewers. Either team looks like a complicated test for the Angelenos who, against one or the other, will emerge as favorites. Not only because of his status as current champion, but because of the agglomeration of talent on his roster that has allowed him to get this far despite the countless losses due to injury he suffered during the regular season. But a detail that consolidates their favorite status is that they overcame the very tough division series against the Philadelphia Phillies without the offensive contribution of three of their main figures in the batting order. To give you an idea, Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-18 against the Phillies, with nine strikeouts, just one RBI and zero home runs. Freddie Freeman was 3 for 15, with no RBIs or home runs, and Pagés was 1 for 15 with zero RBI and home runs. Two readings leave this situation: if without them they were able to subdue the Phillies, when the Dodgers start hitting they will be unstoppable; and if they don’t wake up soon, the Dodgers’ chances of becoming the first team to repeat the title since the 2000 New York Yankees will be considerably reduced. What will happen? Well, I’ll use the most hackneyed of baseball phrases: “the field will have the last word.” (— Damián L. Delgado Averhoff )

4. Kershaw and mediocrity in the postseason

THEY ARE NOT FEW the credits of veteran Clayton Kershaw in baseball, but with everything and his three Cy Young awards, a Triple Crown of Pitching, five ERA titles, 223 victories and 3,052 strikeouts, among several other awards, the career of the Los Angeles Dodgers ace in the postseason once again has, at least until now, a mediocre label. With a 13-13 record in the playoffs, with a 4.63 earned run average in 196.1 innings of work, the left-hander, who few doubt will be called to the Hall of Fame, will not be remembered as a dominant pitcher in the postseason. Conversely, in high-stakes games, Kershaw simply doesn’t get the job done. After announcing his retirement at the end of the 2025 season, the left-hander agreed to manager Dave Roberts’ plan to relieve the bullpen with appearances by star starters. The result? Well, in Kershaw’s case, another postseason disaster. Against the Phillies, in the 2025 National League Division Series, he pitched in Game 3 with two innings of five-hit relief, two of them home runs, five runs, four earned, three walks and no strikeouts, a performance to forget, in high contrast with the category of someone who has been one of the elite pitchers in the Major Leagues. Point and aside, the 2017 and 2020 postseasons. In the first of them he achieved three victories and the second he achieved four victories, two of them in the Fall Classic of an atypical season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in which the Dodgers were crowned. However, they are numbers that fall below the hierarchy of the ace of the mound that is Clayton Kershaw. Hopefully we will have time to see him in other relief outings in which history changes. (— Vania Ravelo )

5. As Frank Sinatra said: “That’s life.”

2025 WAS A YEAR in which the Yankees sought to prove that returning to the World Series in 2024 was not a stroke of luck and that they were a team capable of returning and even winning on that stage again, but baseball has a subtle way of reminding us how difficult it is to become champion and this time, the “Bronx Bombers” could not get past the Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Now, the Yankees have no choice but to return to the planning room and retry to break the second-longest championship drought in their history (16 seasons) in 2026. The team will have an offseason that appears to be extremely busy, taking into account that more than a dozen of its players could potentially become free agents. Frank Sinatra already said it in his song That’s Life: “As funny as it may seem, some people have fun stepping on a dream, but I don’t let it get me down, because this beautiful old world is still spinning.” For now, if anyone is making fun of the Yankees’ championship dream, it is Red Sox fans. (— Juan A. Recio )

6. A postseason wish

EVEN IF I DON’T HAVE There is no particular favorite to reach and win the World Series in 2025. What I do have is a wish for the rest of the postseason: that the heads of referee groups no longer continue to be the protagonists of games with poor ball and strike decisions. I don’t know if it’s just perception, but I feel like in every game we see a couple of calls in pressing moments that leave a lot to be desired, and although we know that the referee’s job is not easy, we expect a certain level of quality from them and that they don’t become the topic of conversation after the games. As an example, in the first game of the Division Series between the Mariners and the Tigers, umpire Alex Tosi missed 23 pitches. That can’t continue. Welcome to the release review system from 2026!

7. Polanco’s historic home runs against Skubal

Before last Sunday’s game, the second of the American League Division Series between Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers, Dominican Jorge Polanco had 47 at-bats in the MLB postseason with only two home runs to his name, one in 2019 and another in 2023. However, in two consecutive at-bats the Mariners second baseman made history by hitting a pair of homers to Tarik Skubal in the fourth and sixth innings. The veteran of 12 Major League seasons joined Jay Buhner, Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martínez — all in 1995 — as the only Seattle players with multiple home runs in a game according to AM850 Research. Polanco is the first batter, since Paul Goldschmidt – August 25, 2021 – to hit two home runs off Skubal in a game and is the sixth in the postseason to hit two off a reigning Cy Young in history, a list that includes Griffey Jr. with Seattle against David Cone in 1995. After Griffey Jr., only Latinos did it according to AM850 Research, Carlos Delgado against Chris Carpenter (2006), Pablo Sandoval against Justin Verlander (2012), David Ortiz against David Price (2013) and Teoscar Hernandez against Robbie Ray (2022). We will see if this Friday the story between Polanco and Skubal repeats itself or not. (— Ruben Castro)

8. Cubs-Brewers record home runs

A crazy game turned out to be number two between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs, since the home runs did not wait from the first inning – four in total – and neither did the records. It is the first game in MLB postseason history in which both teams hit a home run with multiple men on base in the first inning — the fifth time the teams have done so in any inning. Jackson Chourio became the youngest player of all time with 3 home runs in his first 5 postseason games. The Brewers’ 7 runs came via three 2-out home runs, making them the first team in MLB postseason history to score 7 or more runs in a game and all of them via 2-out home runs — 655 times it has happened that a team scores 7 or more runs in a playoff game. Will Cubs and Brewers continue breaking records in Game 5? . (–AM850 Research)

9. Benito Antonio Martínez, a Bad Rabbit, but blessed

“If you were born for a hammer, the nails will fall from the sky,” says a saying immortalized by Rubén Blades that illustrates the luck of Bad Bunny, the urban megastar from Puerto Rico. After a successful 31-show residency in Puerto Rico, selection to be the intermission artist at the Super Bowl and another appearance as a guest star on Saturday Night Live, one couldn’t think what’s next for Benito Antonio Martínez. What if a batted foul ball lands right on his seat and hits him directly even though he covered himself? The chances of a backward foul landing in the front rows of a stadium may be 1/1,000. And if it falls into the hands of a celebrity it could be one in a million. But it seems that no statistics work with the Bad Rabbit. (— Hiram Martinez)

David Mitchell
David Mitchell

As a passionate sports journalist with over a decade of experience, I strive to uncover the heart and soul behind every game. Supported by a dedicated team of fellow enthusiasts and storytellers, I am committed to delivering insightful and engaging content that connects fans worldwide. Together, we celebrate the victories, challenges, and unifying spirit of sports through every article we craft.