"By the top of the ninth inning, the stadium was visibly pockmarked by absences, and people were booing Jhoan Duran's walkout show. Duran, who was just doing his job as the Philadelphia Phillies' best reliever, didn't deserve any of the boos just because manager Rob "Topper" Thomson was deploying him in only the second-highest leverage situation possible. Letting loose on the pyrotechnics while the Phillies were trailing the Dodgers 4-1 and poised to go down 0-2 in the NLDS, however, was egregiously poor organizational decision-making."
"Still, there was one way that the Duran entrance would be redeemed, or at least forgotten: His successful hold, in spite of a bases-empty double and a walk, could still earn the Phillies a walk-off win, or an attempt through extras. The Dodgers bullpen has been ass, and L.A. manager Dave Roberts was getting cute with it and throwing Blake Treinen out there to pitch the ninth with Joe Biden in attendance, instead of the far superior Roki Sasaki."
"Leading off the half-inning, Alec Bohm heard our pleas from section 305-Alec, clap clap, Bohm, clap clap, Alec, clap clap, please, clap clap -and somehow got on base through a not terribly hard-hit single that squeezed through the infielders. Then J.T. Realmuto doubled on a smoked line drive to left field, moving Bohm to third. That was all it took for the crowd to come back to life; it was two-thirds as full as the start of the game, and already twice as loud."
The ninth inning began with fans booing reliever Jhoan Duran after a flashy entrance while the Phillies trailed 4-1 and faced elimination. Duran managed a successful hold despite allowing a double and a walk, preserving a chance for a comeback. The Dodgers' bullpen usage drew criticism, with Blake Treinen called on instead of Roki Sasaki. The Phillies mounted a rally as Alec Bohm reached on a single and J.T. Realmuto doubled, putting runners in scoring position. Nick Castellanos followed with a two-run double to cut the deficit to one and revive the crowd.
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