While it’s still too early to tell if new manager Don Mattingly has had a chance to make meaningful change within the Phillies clubhouse in such a short time, or if this is simply the surge that often comes along with losing a skipper and having a new sheriff in town, one thing is certain—the Phillies desperately needed wins, and three in a row with two walk-off wins in one day is a good place to start if they’re going to have any shot at clawing their way back into contention.
Ironically, the last time the Phillies were able to sustain success after a manager was replaced due to poor team performance was in 2022 when Rob Thomson took over for Joe Girardi and the Phillies went on a magical run to the World Series, falling just short of the title.
Game 1: Phillies 7, Giants 0
Phillies Bats Come to Life for Donnie Baseball’s Debut
Trea Turner lead the way on Tuesday night with four hits and the Phillies finally found a way to play small ball as Don Mattingly earned his first victory as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Jesus Luzardo would be pivotal in the win, becoming the first Phillies pitcher to go 7.0+ innings this season—a hard truth to face for a rotation that was one of the best at going deep into games last year. Luzardo, like most of the Phillies squad, has had his struggles this season, but he was fantastic for the red pinstripes in this one striking out eight and only allowing two hits through seven scoreless innings.
A game that started off with the feel of a pitcher’s duel finally saw it’s first scoring in the fourth, as Tyler Mahle would give up a base hit to Trea Turner, and back-to-back walks to Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, loading the bases with only one out. Brandon Marsh would score Turner on a sacrifice fly, but the Phillies could not get anymore runners across—an all too familiar woe for a team batting .218 with RISP coming into the game.
Fortunately, the recent habit of only scoring in one inning per game was broken in the sixth as the Phillies would once again get the small ball working for them with another base hit for Trea Turner, another walk for Kyle Schwarber, and an RBI double down the third baseline into left for Bryce Harper to extend the lead to 2-0. Adolis Garcia would keep the momentum going with an RBI double scoring two more and ending Tyler Mahle’s night. Bohm would round out the four-run sixth inning with an RBI double of his own giving the Phillies a 5-0 lead.
After a scoreless seventh for both teams, the Giants still could not get anything going in the top of the 8th and the Phillies would pad their lead with RBI singles from Justin Crawford and Trea Turner.
The Phillies would take game one 7-0 and hand the Giants their sixth shutout on the season.
There was a sense of sadness before and after the game as fans and players digested the press conference held by Rob Thomson shortly after his firing. It’s rare for a manager to speak after being let go by an organization, but it probably came as no surprise to those close to the man known for being all class and accountability. The heartfelt disappointment at letting their skipper down came through as each player was asked about his dismissal after the game.
“Whatever it takes, Topper” –the Phillies postseason mantra that unfortunately fell far short of late—will not be uttered again in this clubhouse, and the team will need to find a way to move on and give his sacrifice some meaning by turning the season around.
Game 2: Phillies 3, Giants 2
Phillies Walk It Off to Secure First Series Win in Almost a Month
Fans desperate to see the team pull off consecutive wins and finally win another series were hoping they could keep the momentum going in game two of today’s doubleheader.
Some may have been wondering if the offense would show up again after several members of the team were out late enjoying the Philadelphia Flyers’ overtime playoff series win across the street last night. In true Philly sports fan fashion, the Phillies received some boos when their presence in the building was announced and their group was shown on the big screen—a quick reminder that while their last game was a winning effort, they had a lot of work to do to turn around that 10-19 record, and the fans were not going to let them forget.
Ace Cristopher Sanchez would take the mound looking to rebound after his last appearance—a rare rough outing in which he gave up a career high 12 hits. After giving up two early runs to give the Giants a 2-0 lead in the first, Sanchez would settle in and keep the Giants from adding to their lead before new manager Don Mattingly opted to take him out after 6.2 IP opting to go to the bullpen to take advantage of matchups he felt would give them a better chance to keep the Giants from getting anything going late in the game.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 350th home run in the first to cut the lead in half, a 406 ft. moonshot into the second deck.
Here we go again. New manager, familiar frustrating game plan?
Phillies fans had to be wondering if they were looking at more of the same decision making from the new manager, as one of the loudest complaints against former manager Rob Thomson was how often he would pull a starting pitcher who seemed to be fully in control earlier than expected only to have the bullpen blow the game.
But Mattingly’s decision paid off and the Giants would continue to go scoreless, giving the Phillies a chance to get back into the game down 2-1 going into the bottom of the ninth.
And get back into the game they did.
With one out, Bryson Stott’s RBI triple tied the game, and rookie Justin Crawford legged out an infield single to short giving the Phillies the 3-2 victory and their first series win since they wrapped their series with the Colorado Rockies back on April 5. The Phillies now had two walk-off wins on the season, and both have come off the bat of the 22 year-old rookie.
Game 3: Phillies 6, Giants 5
Doubleheader, Double Walk-Off: Bohm Sac Fly Gives Phillies the Sweep
With little time to rest before game two of the doubleheader, Phillies fans were hoping the team could ride the high from the walk-off win in game one right into a sweep and a three-game winning streak—a tall order with the Phillies getting ready to pitch a bullpen game.
Tim Mayza would get the start for the Phillies and it would take a complete staff effort as the Phillies would utilize seven pitchers to get the win and the sweep.
The Phillies offense did not appear sluggish on short rest, starting off with a bang with back-to-back home runs from leadoff hitter Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber to get the early 2-0 lead.
The Giants would pull even in the top of the fifth, but the Phillies would respond in the bottom of the inning getting a rally going with two outs. A Trea Turner single, a Kyle Schwarber double and a Bryce Harper walk would load the bases for cleanup hitter Adolis Garcia, who would come through with an RBI single giving the lead back to the Phils 4-2.
But the Giants weren’t done and Phillies pitcher Trevor Richards would give up a 2-run single with two outs to Luis Arráez once again tying the game at 4-4.
After giving up the lead, Richards would pitch a one, two, three inning to keep the game tied and Brad Keller would keep the sheet clean in the eighth as Jose Alvarado took the mound in the ninth with closer Jhoan Duran still unavailable due to injury.
Again the Phillies would give up the lead with two outs and head to the bottom of the ninth down 5-4 and it looked like the Phillies would do what they do so often with doubleheaders—split.
Brandon Marsh’s pinch hit double to lead off the inning said otherwise—the Fightins were still in the building. Back-up catcher Garrett Stubbs worked a walk to turn the lineup over with no outs, but Trea Turner broke his bat and hit into a double play giving the Giants two quick outs. It looked like two comeback wins in one day may be too much to ask for until Kyle Schwarber’s RBI double tied the game at 5-5.
Schwarber who needed a triple for the cycle would end the day one bag short going 4-4 on the day.
In the top of the 10th, Chase Shugart, who earned the win in game one of the doubleheader would be called upon again as the Phillies were essentially down to their last man on the staff. He would work his way out of a jam to keep the game tied with the good guys coming to the plate.
Could the Phillies have two walk-off heroes in one day?
The answer was yes. Alec Bohm, who was coming off a stellar play on defense, robbing Luis Arráez of a base hit by predicting where he was going to hit the ball and making a shift just before contact. His quick thinking allowed him to snatch the ball out of the air, and the cameras caught Bohm giving a cheeky wink after the play.
Bohm would come to the plate with Garcia on third and send one deep to center field allowing Garcia to score as the rest of the Phillies came flying out of dugout. Bohm was all smiles as he celebrated with his team, a moment that every Phillies fan hopes gives him the confidence he needs to turn around what has been a truly brutal start to the season.
Alec looked lighter in his postgame interview, laughing and joking, calling his teammate Chase Shugart an “animal” for his incredible double-win performance on the day. When asked if these wins can help catapult the team going forward he said:
“We’ve got a lot of fight left in us, and you know it’s a lot better to be in this situation in April then it is down the stretch so—we’ve got a lot of games left ahead of us and I think we know we’ve got a lot more fight in us and I think we started to show that today and I think we’re going to get this thing turned around and start rolling.”
Chase Shugart became the first MLB pitcher to win two games in a single day since Brian Duensing did so for the Minnesota Twins on August 9, 2013.
What’s Next?
The Phillies will hit the road for a four game series against the Miami Marlins before returning back home to Citizens Bank Park to square off against the Athletics and Rockies. The team will need to prove that they can keep their winning ways going long-term and this newfound success is not simply the result of “new manager bounce.”
There are some very encouraging takeaways from the series that they need to continue to build on to have continued success and prove this isn’t just a flash in the pan—they’re putting more balls in play, taking more walks, manufacturing runs, and overall look less desperate in the box. If Don Mattingly can find a way to keep them focused on these fundamentals, the Phillies have a good shot at digging themselves out of this hole as they get ready to face several sub .500 teams over the next few weeks.
For the first time in almost a month, Phillies fans have something to smile about and maybe—just maybe—hope.
