LOS ANGELES – Thirty minutes after one of the most chaotic finishes to a postseason series in baseball history, the Phillies’ shell-shocked looks and blank gazes remained.

Only now the players sat in front of their lockers, many with a beverage in hand. They were no longer glued to the dugout railing where they had just stared in disbelief at the home team emptying onto the field at Dodger Stadium and celebrating near first base.

That was, after all, where nearly everyone in the building expected the ill-fated throw to go before the Phillies’ season ended in stunning fashion.

Left for dead after dropping both games at home to start the National League Division Series, the Phillies nearly managed to get it back to Philadelphia. They blitzed the Dodgers’ Cy Young contender, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in Game 3 to keep their season alive. They had their own Cy Young contender, Cristopher Sánchez, deliver 6.1 innings of one-run ball in Thursday’s Game 4. As the zeroes piled up in a back-and-forth pitchers’ duel, they emptied the tank. They used their star closer in the seventh. They brought in likely Game 5 starter Jesús Luzardo for five outs in extra innings. They pinch-hit their hobbled outfielder, Harrison Bader, hoping to break the stalemate.

And though their top sluggers failed to build on the breakout they enjoyed the night prior — Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper followed a 7-for-13 performance by combining to go 1-for-14 in Game 4 — they had survived three spotless innings from Dodgers playoff sensation Roki Sasaki to make it into the mess that was the rest of the L.A. bullpen.

They just needed one more out with the bases loaded to send the game to the 12th, when Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages dribbled a grounder back to reliever Orion Kerkering. The 24-year-old booted it, but Pages was still just halfway to first base when Kerkering retrieved the ball on the infield grass in front of the mound. Still plenty of time.

The moment before chaos unfolded. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Catcher J.T. Realmuto pointed to first, directing the way.

But panic set in.

In front of Kerkering, Dodgers pinch-runner Hyeseong Kim barreled toward home: “I ran for my life,” Kim said.

Kerkering decided to go home with the ball, which sailed high and wide of Realmuto, all the way to the backstop. The Dodgers poured out of the dugout, celebrating their seventh trip to the NLCS in the last 10 years, as the Phillies’ season abruptly went up in flames.

The moment of unfolding chaos. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

He put his hands on his knees and looked toward the ground. Many Dodgers players had to run around Kerkering to reach Pages for the celebration at first.

“Once the pressure got to me, I just thought it was a faster throw to JT,” Kerkering explained. “A little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to Bryce. Just a horse s— throw.”

The moment after the chaos unfolded. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

The time would come, but in that moment, the macro questions about the state of the Phillies — the direction of the franchise, the fourth straight playoff exit, the impending free agency of team leaders Schwarber and Realmuto and standout pitcher Ranger Suárez — weren’t on the players’ minds.

“I’m thinking about losing a baseball game,” Realmuto said. “That’s what it feels like right now. The last thing I’m thinking about is next year.”

‘Caught Up in the Moment’

All that mattered was another season ending far sooner than anyone expected — and a young pitcher who needed support. Realmuto, who struck a similarly incredulous pose to Kerkering in the immediate aftermath, walked out to his pitcher and patted him on the back.

“I know he’s probably feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders after that play,” Realmuto said. “Just tried to reassure him that the whole game’s not on him. There were a lot of opportunities for us to win that game.”

A moment of celebration unfolding in front of heartbreak. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

The Phillies mustered just four hits in 11 innings. Tyler Glasnow, a Southern California native who grew up going to games at Dodger Stadium and idolizing Clayton Kershaw, helped keep his childhood team’s hopes for a repeat championship alive with six scoreless frames.

It was nearly not enough — not the way Sánchez and the rest of the Phillies’ pitching staff were going.

The only run charged to the Phillies’ star left-hander came after his departure in the seventh inning, when manager Rob Thomson went to closer Jhoan Durán, who walked in the tying run before striking out Teoscar Hernández to keep the game tied at 1. It remained there until the 11th-inning debacle.

Before Kerkering could retreat to the dugout, Thomson pulled the devastated pitcher aside.

“Just keep his head up,” Thomson said. “He just got caught up in the moment a little bit. Coming down the stretch there, he pitches so well for us. I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulder. But we win as a team, and we lose as a team.”

The Phillies haven’t gone to the World Series since 2022. That year, they finished third in the division but still ended a 10-year playoff drought before making an improbable October run, which ended on a Nick Castellanos flyout in Game 6 in Houston. Castellanos remembers that moment well — and how first base coach Paco Figueroa waited for him to walk off the field.

So he returned the favor to Kerkering on Thursday evening, running in from right field and around the Dodgers’ celebration to get to the visibly shaken pitcher as fast as he could.

“That was the only thing to do in that moment,” said Castellanos, whose double in the seventh inning off Emmet Sheehan knocked in the Phillies’ only run. “I just told him to keep his head up, and I wanted to be next to him when he walked off the field, to let him know he’s not alone in that moment.”

There were plenty of others who wanted to send the same message.

“It means a lot,” Kerkering said. “It shows they care a lot. Just means everything, for sure.”

‘Felt That This Was the Team’

Thirty-seven minutes after the ill-fated throw home, Kerkering emerged in the clubhouse, eyes bloodshot, still in full uniform. He got a hug from Taijuan Walker, and another from Luzardo, who was charged with the loss despite allowing just the one unearned run in 1.2 innings. Matt Strahm, who threw a scoreless ninth to keep the game going, pulled Kerkering over for a lengthy chat.

“Just gutted for him,” Strahm said.

At the time, the team was still processing the madness.

The beers that many of them held in their hands were supposed to be getting sprayed, the way they had in that very same visiting clubhouse just a few weeks prior when the Phillies clinched their second straight division title.

It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

Not again.

“I know we had what it took,” Realmuto said. “We have the talent in this room to win a World Series, and we fell short.”

Each of the last four years, the Phillies have improved their win total.

But each of the last four years, their October production has trended the wrong way: a World Series appearance in 2022, a loss in seven games in the NLCS in 2023, now back-to-back NLDS exits.

“I can’t really compare because they all feel just awful,” Thomson said. “I mean, when this happens, it’s like your entire world comes to a stop. It’s just a thud.”

“Deep down in my heart,” Schwarber said, “I felt that this was the team that was gonna do it.”

The Phillies’ high-powered lineup once again fell short. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

The Phillies had earned a first-round bye with 96 wins, their most since 2011. Even without ace Zack Wheeler, their rotation was formidable. They had the NL home run leader in Schwarber, the NL batting champ in Turner and an October star in Harper. Their deadline additions solidified the roster. They had the look of a champion, in what could be the last hurrah for this core.

“Talent can get you to the playoffs,” Castellanos said. “But once you’re in the tournament, it’s completely different. As a whole organization, once we get into the tournament, we’ve regressed over the last four years.”

Before Castellanos turns his attention to the 2026 season, he plans to address his health and a lingering left knee injury that he said will need imaging. He sat in the Phillies clubhouse next to Realmuto long after the final out, for what could be the last time.

As the Phillies packed their things, they said their goodbyes. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski traversed the room, shaking players’ hands and offering his thanks. Soon, longer discussions will need to take place.

Kyle Schwarber will have plenty of suitors from across the league this summer. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Schwarber is about to become one of MLB’s most desired bats. Realmuto will be among the top catchers on the market.

“I’m not really sure what happens or what goes into this offseason or where we kind of go from here,” Harper said. “But I think obviously those two guys are going to be a main decision for us, a main conversation for us as a team, as a club. I think obviously we love those two guys and want them back.”

Questions about the manager’s status loom, too.

“It’s out of my control,” Thomson said. “I’m not even thinking about it. I’ve got 60 people in there that are brokenhearted right now.”

For whatever it’s worth, Turner said he believes “100%” that Thomson is the right guy to lead the Phillies into the future, despite the team’s recent shortcomings.

“I’ve been blessed with a lot of good managers in my career,” Turner said. “He’s right up there with them. He’s got all the qualities. He keeps it even-keeled all year long. He blends the old school and new school. He’s willing to adapt and change and do different things. I don’t think you could ask for more.”

Rob Thomson and the Phillies are staring at a pivotal offseason. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“I love Topper, man,” Harper added. “He’s done a great job for us. I don’t know what the future holds, I have no idea. I think that’s a Dombrowski question. But obviously we love Topper in here.”

Before exiting the clubhouse, Schwarber went around the room and gave his teammates high-fives.

Another season ended too soon.

This time, the specter of change looms.

“It doesn’t feel good,” Schwarber said, as his eyes began to well up. “You just make a lot of different relationships in the clubhouse, and you never know how it’s going to work out, right?

“You just make so many personal relationships with guys and you spend how much time with these guys throughout the course of a year, and they become family. Yeah, you just never know how it’s going to go. But these guys all know how I feel about them.”

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner .

New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) They say cricket is a game of moments – but some moments transcend the sport itself. On Sunday night, under dazzling lights and deafening roars, one such moment belonged to Amanjot Kaur.

South Africa were chasing history. Their skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, was crafting a masterclass — calm, composed, and unbeaten on 101, steering her team steadily towards what looked like an inevitable victory.

India had thrown everything at her — spin, pace, guile — yet Wolvaardt stood firm, the anchor in a storm. The tension was suffocating; every run felt like a dagger, every delivery a heartbeat.

And then came the delivery — the one that changed everything.

Wolvaardt launched it high, aiming for yet another boundary. Out on the rope stood Amanjot Kaur — eyes locked, nerves of steel, the hopes of a nation resting on her hands. She ran. She leapt. She stretched every fibre of her being — and when she landed, ball in hand, India erupted.

That catch wasn’t just a dismissal. It was deliverance.

The South African dugout froze. Wolvaardt — the rock on which their innings was built — had fallen. And with her, so did South Africa’s dream. The roar that followed shook the DY Patil Stadium as Amanjot’s teammates swarmed her — screams, hugs, tears — a moment instantly etched into cricketing folklore.

From there, destiny took over. India’s bowlers tightened the screws, fielders crackled with energy, and within a few overs, the dream became reality — India were Women’s World Cup champions for the very first time.

As confetti rained and tricolours waved, Amanjot stood quietly at the boundary — the same patch of turf where history had turned. One leap, one catch, one Cup — a perfect trifecta of courage, skill, and heart.

Because cricket isn’t just about runs and wickets. It’s about moments — moments that make legends of players and believers of millions. And on this unforgettable night, Amanjot gave India both. The moment that broke the internet

If the stadium roared, social media exploded. Within minutes, #AmanjotKaur, #TeamIndia, and #WorldCupFinal were trending worldwide. Fans hailed her as the “Queen of the Boundary,” “The Flying Amanjot,” and “India’s Guardian Angel.”

Former cricketers, Bollywood stars, and sporting icons joined the chorus of praise. One fan wrote: “Amanjot didn’t just take a catch — she caught our hearts.”

Another posted: “Pressure? She called it purpose.”

Memes, montages, and emotional tributes flooded timelines as the cricketing world celebrated not just a victory — but the moment that made it possible.

India made history, lifting their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title with a commanding 52-run win over South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday night.

–IANS

cs/ab

Frank Lampard has played down Coventry City’s early season success as “just a moment,” determined to keep a level head as his team headed into the international break top of the Championship.

The Sky Blues’ 5-0 thumping of Sheffield Wednesday in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off sent the club to top spot, a position they kept by virtue of Middlesbrough’s defeat at Portsmouth. City’s goal spree now totals 27 from their nine game unbeaten start to their league campaign which has seen them keep five clean sheets – four in the last four games.

Asked to reflect on his team’s outstanding numbers and start to the season, Lampard said: “Yeah, it’s good and you can’t come away from that. But it’s just a moment. It’s a period and we are playing well.

“All the work that we do, things are coming together. It won’t always be that way but at this point, yeah, we’re very clinical in front of goal. We’re creating a lot of chances and four clean sheets is obviously great for us because the early games we were conceding a lot. They were strange goals, set pieces and little things that sometimes you can’t quite control, to be fair, and I’ve never felt our game has been open, necessarily, but we’ve tightened up even more.

“And obviously when you have good possession and are creating chances it helps without giving a team a feeling that they can dominate you. So yeah, at the minute a lot of elements of our game are good but we have to keep that going. It’s nice for us to have a break having had this run of results but we have to reset and go again.”

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A gleaming race car’s V8 engine roars to life to the tune of a stadium of screaming fans. The car rolls forward to the starting line and a green flag falls. Dozens of cars tear away from the starting line, signaling the beginning of an ARCA Menards Series stock car race.

For Isabella Robusto, this is just a normal day at work. She’s a professional racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing, the performance division of automotive behemoth Toyota.

Robusto is also a full-time undergraduate student in the online delivery method of the mechanical engineering degree program in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. After graduating early from high school, she took a year to focus full-time on her racing career, which developed from a lifelong passion for racing that began when she was a child racing go-karts.

“When I was about 12 years old, I joined the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program,” Robusto says. “That’s when I really knew that I wanted to do everything I can to become a professional race car driver.

On track academically and professionally

Although she already had a professional racing career, Robusto always knew she wanted to get a college degree. Her racing schedule made a flexible program essential, eliminating on-campus options.

Robusto also had an interest in aerospace engineering and looked into online options for degree programs in the field, which led her to ASU Online.

“Engineering has always been something that I love,” she says. “I’m very grateful that ASU had a mechanical engineering degree that I could do online while specializing in aerospace.”

The program has the same curriculum that on-campus students complete while offering the flexibility to complete work anywhere. Robusto works with her instructors and academic advising team to manage her courseload around her racing schedule, ensuring she stays on track in her academics to spend more time on track in her racing career.

She says her work as an engineering student has given her a new understanding of racing.

“There’s tons of data we have to go through from the simulator, at the track and when we get done at the track,” Robusto says. “Being able to have the terminology and talk with the engineers closer than I feel most other drivers can is a great help. I feel like we get to the end goal quicker, which is a huge help.”

Robusto’s improved understanding of engineering concepts helps her provide valuable feedback for the engineers on her team to refine and tune her car in simulations, which inform how to set up her car for success on the track due to limited real-world practice time.

Engineering a winning racing formula

She aims to use the engineering insights from her degree to become a better driver.

“My engineering skills add to the list of things that I can provide to Toyota beyond being the driver,” she says. “Everything helps in the sport.”

Robusto’s ultimate goal is to make it to the upper echelons of stock car racing in NASCAR, as the ARCA Menards Series is known as a preparatory step for those looking to break into the NASCAR world. She wants to inspire other girls and women in the male-dominated fields of both motorsports and STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math.

“I do a lot of STEM work with the NASCAR Foundation,” Robusto says. “We go to schools and show the kids that anyone can become an engineer, and anyone can work in racing. I always want to help the little girls and show them that they can be engineers too, and they can succeed in a career path that’s male-dominated.”

From Castle to The X-Files, a strong central partnership is a staple of any crime procedural, and High Potential has this in its pairing of Major Crimes consultant Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) with Detective Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata). With Morgan’s penchant for breaking the rules and Karadec’s intense dedication to following them, the two work very well together, both when they agree and when they clash. While Morgan and Karadec initially butted heads quite a bit, they have since come to trust and respect each other, and their moments of conflict are typically now just a part of the two of them working to solve their cases together.

The first three episodes of High Potential Season 2 gave significant focus to both the return of the show’s main villain and to a particularly suspenseful case, without giving Morgan and Karadec as many scenes together outside their crime-solving. Still, though, Morgan and Karadec continued to work together and check on each other throughout these episodes. High Potential’s most recent episode, “Behind the Music,” gives Morgan and Karadec’s partnership the most attention that they’ve had yet this season, with some really meaningful scenes that further strengthen their relationship. In particular, a scene of Morgan and Karadec talking in the car while on duty shows just how well Karadec has come to know Morgan and her mannerisms.

Karadec Finally Decodes All of Morgan’s Silences in Latest ‘High Potential’ Episode

Morgan Gillory and Adam Karadec talking at the precinct in High Potential Season 2 Image via ABC

In High Potential’s latest episode, the Major Crimes unit investigates two connected murders that occurred decades apart, while Selena (Judy Reyes) deals with the difficult news that she was passed over for a promotion that she had more than earned. Morgan and Karadec pair up for the investigation like usual, but a moment in the car while on the way to interrogate a suspect gives them the chance to really talk. Karadec notices that Morgan is being especially quiet, so he points out that she has gone into one of her silences. Karadec then tells Morgan that he knows all four of her silences: one when she is having family drama, one when she is frustrated about a case, one when she is irritated with Karadec, and one when there is something that she wants to say. In return, Morgan says that Karadec has one silence where he just minds his own business, to which he agrees.

While listing off each of Morgan’s silences, Karadec explains the particular expressions and gestures that she makes during these silences, showing just how well he knows her. It’s a fantastic scene that proves how much attention Karadec pays to Morgan, and how much he cares about how she’s feeling at any given moment. Both as partners, and as a potential slowburn romance, Morgan and Karadec already know each other very well, and they deeply understand each other in ways that nobody else really does. They are both very observant people who always make their case at the time a major priority, and they both tend to get stuck on whatever is bothering them. Karadec’s speech in this scene also shows how much he values what Morgan has to say, even when she’s holding herself back from saying it, which is a major change from when they first met.

’High Potential’s Latest Episode Proves Just How Deep Morgan and Karadec’s Bond Really Runs

Morgan and Karadec’s conversation in the car comes up again later in the episode in the best way. Morgan and Karadec support each other throughout the rest of the episode when the case gets difficult, and when they have to make hard choices. When Karadec goes to confront one of the killers, he makes Morgan stay behind to protect her. After they arrest the second killer, Morgan and Karadec meet up at the station while they are getting ready to leave for the night. Morgan tells Karadec that he was right that, as a consultant, she should have stayed behind instead of arresting the killer. She also acknowledges that he is looking out for her, and she allows herself to accept this aspect of her partnership in spite of her discomfort with relying on another person. He then says that she was right that his method doesn’t always work when helping others with problems, but that he doesn’t need to change, because he has her. With this line, Karadec shows Morgan that he relies on her as well, and that their partnership goes both ways.

Throughout the episode, Morgan and Karadec really lean on each other as partners, showing how far they’ve come since the start of Season 1. When Karadec says early on in the episode that he’d have to stop being Morgan’s partner if Selena was promoted, Morgan makes it clear that she doesn’t want a different partner. Later on, Karadec casually refers to Morgan as his partner, which he used to refuse to say for most of Season 1. Morgan and Karadec’s partnership works so well because they are similar in their keen observation skills and their passionate dedication to their cases, but they are different in their approaches to it, so they challenge each other to grow. Morgan pushes Karadec to consider getting Selena to talk through her disappointment, while Karadec reminds Morgan that, as a consultant, she needs to stay out of dangerous situations. The scene in the car, in particular, shows how comfortable they are with one another, and how important Morgan and Karadec have become to each other.

New episodes of High Potential air Tuesdays on ABC at 10:00 P.M. EST.