Giants gave Orion Kerkering war flashbacks in first appearance since Phillies' NLDS loss to Dodgers

It was impossible not to feel a little bad for the Phillies after last year's NLDS. Game 4 was tied at one apiece through 10 2/3 innings when Orion Kerkering came in with runners on the corners. He gave up a walk to load the bases, but he just needed one more out to buy Philadelphia at least three more outs to string some runs together.

Both Dodgers and Phillies fans remember what happened next. Andy Pages tapped a grounder back to the mound, Kerkering fielded after fumbling. Hyeseong Kim, who got a nice lead off of third, bolted home, but it didn't matter how fast he was running. Kerkering ignored JT Realmuto's instruction to throw to first to nab Pages and instead tossed the ball over Realmuto's head.

Kim scored. The Dodgers walked off the NLDS on an error.

Flash forward to Tuesday, April 7, the Phillies are facing the Giants in San Francisco. Kerkering is in for his first appearance since the postseason, after coming off of the IL.

Heliot Ramos taps a grounder between the mound and home plate. Kerkering comes off the mound, but lets catcher Rafael Marchán grab it and throw it to first instead. He bounces the toss, and Bryce Harper can't pick it.

This guy really can't catch a break.

Orion Kerkering is still being haunted by weak grounders to the mound after Dodgers-Phillies NLDS

The context was obviously very different. A game that the Phillies are losing 4-0 to the Giants in early April is different to a tie game in the postseason. The Giants did not have the bases loaded on Tuesday like the Dodgers did in Game 4.

But, still, what are the odds that happens on the very first batter Kerkering sees after all but blowing the NLDS for his team?

It's clear that he was experiencing some level of deja vu in letting Marchán take the ball instead of trusting himself to complete the throw to first — and then Marchán couldn't even make the play.

It only got worse for Kerkering from there; he gave up a two-run triple to put the Giants up 6-0 before getting out of the inning, and the Phillies went on to get shut out.

Dodgers fans definitely remember last year's Game 4 fondly, but you gotta feel for Kerkering, at least a little bit. It wasn't a great way to re-instill confidence after a moment as ugly as last year's.