PHILADELPHIA — Joe Girardi managed a Phillies team with the reigning NL MVP, five 2021 All-Stars, a $224 million payroll that nudged the franchise above the luxury tax and expectations of ending the longest playoff drought in the National League.

With his team buried deep in the NL East standings, and with a sagging bullpen, defensive deficiencies and slumbering starts from some high-priced veterans, Girardi paid the price for Philadelphia’s miserable start. He was fired Friday, becoming the first major league manager to lose his job this season after failing to turn a team with a record payroll into a playoff contender.

Bench coach Rob Thomson was named interim manager.

Expected to contend for the NL East title, the Phillies were 22-29 and 12 games behind the first-place New York Mets going into Friday’s games. They were 5 1/2 games out of the second NL wild-card spot.

“Oh, I think we can make the playoffs. I think we’re in a position where we can battle back to do that. I do believe that,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.

Girardi’s first year with Philadelphia was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Phillies went 82-80 last year, and he ends his tenure with a 132-141 record. Girardi managed the New York Yankees from 2008-17 and the Florida Marlins in 2006.

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The Phillies had lost 12 of 17 games heading into the opener of Friday’s three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.

“We underperformed and that falls on me. This is what happens,” Girardi told SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio. “I think there’s more talent in that room than the way we have played.”

The Phillies still boast NL MVP Bryce Harper and NL Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and free-agent sluggers Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber. Yet Philadelphia hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011, hasn’t won the World Series since 2008 and has watched fan interest plummet through a decade-plus of mediocre baseball.

“It’s not something that can’t be fixed and changed,” Dombrowski said. “I think we already started some of those changes this winter time when we made some changes within our system, our organization, a lot of changes, but those things don’t show up overnight.”

Harper has been plagued most of the season by right forearm and elbow soreness and was forced to give up right field, serving instead as the designated hitter. Second baseman Jean Segura is out for up to three months because of a fractured right index finger. The Phillies are 12-15 at home and 4-10 in one-run games.

The lowlight was a May 5 loss at home to the New York Mets when they blew a six-run lead in the ninth inning and lost 8-7. The Mets had lost the previous 330 times they trailed by six runs in the ninth.

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“I think there’s a number of reasons we didn’t win. We gave too many extra outs that cost us four or five games, maybe even more,” Girardi said.

Girardi replaced Yankees manager Joe Torre after the 2007 season and spent a decade in pinstripes. Girardi led New York to its 27th World Series title, beating the Phillies in six games in 2009, and his 910 wins were sixth most in team history.

Girardi said last week the season was “frustrating” but he was not concerned about losing his job. Girardi, though, likely had to make the playoffs this season after the Phillies declined to pick up his option for 2023.

Philadelphia’s struggles go well beyond Girardi. Gabe Kapler was fired after a 161-163 record in two seasons and then led the San Francisco Giants to a 107-55 record and the playoffs last season.

The Phillies also fired coaching assistant Bobby Meacham and promoted Mike Calitri to bench coach.

Thomson was Philadelphia’s bench coach and coordinated spring training for the last five seasons. He was hired before the 2018 season.

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“I am ready to lead this team and look forward to getting to work and turning this around,” he said.

YANKEES: Josh Donaldson was activated from the 10-day injured list and was in the lineup for the for the first time since being suspended by Major League Baseball for a remark to Chicago White Sox star Tim Anderson.

Donaldson was suspended one game for making multiple references about Jackie Robinson while talking to Anderson on May 21. Donaldson has appealed the discipline.

Donaldson played the next day against Chicago but has been out of the lineup since because of COVID-19 and right shoulder inflammation. He was slated to play third base and bat cleanup against the Detroit Tigers in his return.

The 2015 AL MVP is hitting .239 with five homers, 15 RBI and a .764 OPS over 37 games in his first season with New York.

Donaldson was isolated from the team for several days after the Anderson incident because he had COVID-19 symptoms. He apologized to the Robinson family during that time. Upon his return, he said he was hurt that teammates didn’t back him.

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TWINS: Minnesota arrived in Toronto with regular right fielder Max Kepler and relief pitchers Emilio Pagán, Caleb Thielbar and Trevor Megill on the restricted list to comply with the Canadian government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The four players will miss the three-game series against the Blue Jays. Canada requires anyone traveling to the country to have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, the second one at least 14 days before entry.

Outfielder Mark Contreras and right-handed pitchers Jharel Cotton, Chi Chi González and Ian Hamilton were promoted from Triple-A St. Paul as weekend replacements.

REDS: Cincinnati activated veteran left-hander Mike Minor after an extended stay on the injured list and a rehabilitation assignment in the minor league.

Minor started the season on the 10-day injured list because of a left shoulder strain. In five rehab starts at Triple-A Louisville, he went 1-3 with a 6.11 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings.

To make room on the roster, the Reds optioned outfielder TJ Friedl to Louisville.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES

CARDINALS 14, CUBS 5: Paul Goldschmidt homered to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, Corey Dickerson went deep twice and visiting St. Louis routed Chicago.

Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar also went deep as the Cardinals rolled to their fourth win in five games.

Goldschmidt hit a three-run drive in the third for his 12th home run. The six-time All-Star closed in on his career-high 26-game hitting streak with Arizona in 2013 and extended a personal best by reaching base in his 39th consecutive game.

Goldschmidt has 10 homers and 36 RBI in his last 22 games. He has a National League-leading .349 average and 47 RBI, tied for the NL lead with the Mets’ Pete Alonso.

Dickerson sparked a five-run fourth against Marcus Stroman (2-5) when he lined a tiebreaking solo shot to right for his first homer. He and Nootbaar hit back-to-back solo homers in the ninth against Frank Schwindel, who took the mound after starting as the designated hitter.

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Gorman launched a long three-run drive in the fourth to make it 9-4.

NATIONALS 8, REDS 5: Lane Thomas had a three-homer game for the first time in his career, and Nelson Cruz and Juan Soto also went deep, leading Washington to a win at Cincinnati.

Thomas became the first Nationals player to hit three homers in a game since Kyle Schwarber did it on June 20, 2021, against the New York Mets. Thomas only had three home runs in 123 at-bats this season.

Joey Votto hit a three-run homer for Cincinnati in the eighth and tied Johnny Bench for fourth on the franchise’s all-time hits list with 2,048.

YANKEES 13, TIGERS 0: Gerrit Cole pitched perfectly into the seventh inning a night after teammate Jameson Taillon lost his perfect game bid in the eighth, Aaron Judge homered and had four hits on his bobblehead night, and New York routed visiting Detroit.

The Yankees are the first team with consecutive perfect-game bids of six innings or more since at least 1961, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

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Jose Trevino, Anthony Rizzo and Matt Carpenter also homered for New York against rookie Elvin Rodriguez (0-1), charged with 10 runs in his third big league start.

Jonathan Schoop spoiled Cole’s perfect night with two outs in the seventh. Schoop’s grounder skipped up the middle, just past diving second baseman DJ LeMahieu.

GUARDIANS 6, ORIOLES 3: Shane Bieber held Baltimore without a hit until the sixth inning and Owen Miller drove in four runs in his first two plate appearances as Cleveland rolled to a win at Baltimore.

PHILLIES 10, ANGELS 0: Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber each homered twice and Philadelphia won in interim manager Rob Thomson’s debut, sending visiting Los Angeles to its ninth straight loss.

TWINS 9, BLUE JAYS 3: Kyle Garlick and Jose Miranda each hit two home runs, Byron Buxton also went deep and visiting Minnesota ended Toronto’s winning streak at eight games.

GIANTS 15, MARLINS 6: Brandon Crawford hit his fifth career grand slam, Mike Yastrzemski homered and doubled, and San Francisco hit a season-high five homers in a win at Miami.

DIAMONDBACKS 8, PIRATES 6: Rookie Alek Thomas hit two of Arizona’s five home runs in a win at Pittsburgh.

Ketel Marte homered while extending his hitting streak to 15 games and Christian Walker and Jake McCarthy also connected for Arizona.

RAYS 6, WHITE SOX 3: Randy Arozarena homered, Ji-Man Choi drove in three runs and Shane McClanahan won his fourth straight start as Tampa Bay beat visiting Chicago.


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