Phillies win first game under ‘new voice’ after changing managers

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies’ “new voice” did not have much to say after his first win as interim manager.

Don Mattingly, the 57th manager in franchise history, addressed the team before Tuesday night’s game against the San Francisco Giants. But after a 7-0 win in the opener of a three-game series, he didn’t have too much to add.

“Congratulations?” Mattingly said when asked if he told the team anything postgame. “Not really.”

The Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday after parts of five seasons at the helm. He took over during the 2022 season and led the club to a World Series appearance. The team made the postseason in each of his first four years. But Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made a change in response to the team’s poor start to 2026.

“He’s a wonderful person, done a lot, works hard, very conscientious,” Dombrowski said. “But I think at this time, I felt that we needed a new voice in there, a little different feeling in the clubhouse at this point.”

After beginning the year 9-19, the Phillies dismissed Thomson and elevated Mattingly in an attempt to jump-start the season.

“Four years ago, he was the right voice for us with the club that we had,” Dombrowski said. “There was no question about it. And he’s done it very well. I think we needed a different voice with this group where we are right now.”

The veteran executive’s ideal voice would have been Alex Cora’s. Dombrowski admitted that he talked with the recently fired ex-Red Sox manager over the weekend about taking over in Philadelphia. The two won a championship together in Boston in 2018 and continue to have a relationship. But after Cora ultimately turned Dombrowski down, the Phillies still decided to part ways with Thomson and pivoted to Mattingly.

Mattingly, who previously managed the Dodgers and Marlins, said during the offseason that he no longer had the interest or the energy to manage again. He said Tuesday that he always had the energy necessary, but he didn’t want to come into Philadelphia and have people think he was threatening Thomson’s job. But when Dombrowski made the decision to fire Thomson and offer the position to Mattingly, he accepted.

A former New York Yankees superstar and father of Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly, Don Mattingly said on his first day as Phillies manager that he’s not so different from Thomson and his steady personality. But Mattingly did say that he wanted to implement some changes.

“Donnie is a great manager,” Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo, who played under Mattingly with the Marlins and tossed seven scoreless innings against the Giants, said. “I had a great time with him in Miami. He’s been a player for a long time. He knows the life and the struggles that we go through. So he kind of sees that aspect, and he’s a great communicator as well.”

Luzardo acknowledged that Tuesday was a tough day within the clubhouse and organization. Luzardo enjoyed working with Thomson after being traded to Philadelphia before last season. Many players had relationships with the ex-manager that were forged during successful stretches.

“It just kind of sucks that we didn’t do our job so he had to take the fall for it,” Luzardo said.

But the Phillies are hoping to author a turnaround without Thomson. While they’re still just 10-19, their first chance to start it off under Mattingly was a success.