Orion Kerkering handled failure on the biggest stage significantly better than anyone else could have given the situation he was in. Bases loaded. Bottom of the 11th. Two outs. Ball hit to pitcher.

The natural reaction would be to toss the ball to first, but Kerkering bobbled the ball and, in a moment of panic, threw home, and over catcher J.T. Realmuto's head. Ball game over. Series over.

Kerkering didn't let the moment define him, facing the media and answering questions about his blunder. He took the challenge head on, even though he's a 24-year-old who just finished his second full year in the major leagues.

The Phillies won't let the final play of the season bear weight on Kerkering's shoulders. They won't be getting him out of dodge either, not with the way he handled himself in the aftermath of a play that will be mentioned in Philadelphia sports for a long time.

"I feel for Kerk," Phillies general manager Dave Dombrowski said at his season-ending press conference on Thursday. "It was a tough situation. I know he was distraught. I talked to him a couple times myself. I talked to him after the game and talked to him when we got back. He's a strong individual.

"He will get whatever assistance, and we will offer him whatever assistance that he needs, and we'll continue to work with him to try and get him through that."

The Phillies have chosen to stand with Kerkering. They know, as does the rest of Major League Baseball, the talent and stuff he brings to the back end of a bullpen, even if the season didn't play out the way he envisioned.

This started long before the blunder on the final play of the NLDS. Kerkering had a 4.07 ERA in 28 games after the All-Star Break, striking out 31 batters and walking eight while giving up four home runs and allowing 11 earned runs in 24 1/3 innings pitched. In the postseason, Kerkering allowed two runs in 2.2 innings pitched, striking out three and walking two, finishing with a  6.75 ERA. He pitched in all four games.

Kerkering's error capped off a rough end to what looked to be a promising season. He can move on from the past and reset himself mentally heading into 2026, and the Phillies are making sure that's the case.

"I think he's in the right mindset right now," said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. "And I just reiterated that, you know, that happened to be the last play of the last game, and we're out. So that's magnified, but there's so many things that happened prior to that. A bloop hit here, a great play they make on a bunt, all those different things. Decisions that I made that didn't work out. All those other things are part of us losing.

"So everything's focused on him right now. He's gonna have a long career, a long career. A successful career. You just can't dwell on that. People forget and he needs to forget too."

The Phillies have plans for Kerkering in the back end of their bullpen down the road. He's the top right-handed option outside of Jhoan Duran, as 40-year-old David Robertson is a free agent. Philadelphia has Kerkering under team control for five more seasons, as he's the youngest player on the playoff roster.

The play could have gotten to Kerkering; it could have taken its career in another direction. Based on how Kerkering has handled the play, he can only come back stronger.

"I think he can do that, but I also know that's a challenge for him and we'll keep in contact with him on a continued basis," Dombrowski said. "Between people in the front office, people in the administrative aspect of it, people on our coaching staff, and I'm sure some of the players, to make sure we can give him the best supportive system that we can."

The Phillies are giving Kerkering their vote of confidence for 2026. That's the best they can do for him and his career moving forward.