2026 Philadelphia Phillies

2026 Philadelphia Phillies / Franchise: Philadelphia Phillies / BR Team Page

Record: , Finished in NL Eastern Division (2026 NL)

Managed by Rob Thomson (9-19) and Don Mattingly

Coaches: Mike Calitri, Anthony Contreras, Caleb Cotham, Bobby Dickerson, Paco Figueroa, Edwar Gonzalez, Kevin Long, Mark Lowy, Don Mattingly, Rafael Pena, César Ramos and Dusty Wathan

Ballpark: Citizens Bank Park

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2026 Philadelphia Phillies went into the season as a World Series contender, but instead had a rough first five weeks. On April 28th, with the team tied for the worst record in the majors with the New York Mets, they fired manager Rob Thomson and replaced him on an interim basis with bench coach Don Mattingly. Thomson had led the Phillies to the postseason every year since taking over as skipper midway through the 2022 season, but the slow start created a sense of panic. Mattingly was no spring chicken, as a 65-year-old veteran of 14 seasons as a player and 12 as a manager, not counting his years as a major league coach. In a strange and unprecedented twist, his nomination meant that he was reporting to his son - General Manager Preston Mattingly.

Whether or not it was a result of the firing, the Phillies win their first three games under Don Mattingly, with a series sweep of the San Francisco Giants. The last two of these came in a doubleheader on April 30th and were marked by a number of rare feats: the Phillies won both ends of the doubleheader in walk-off fashion, something no major league team had done since 2004, and reliever Chase Shugart was the winner in both games, something not done in the majors since Brian Duensing in 2013, and with the Phillies since Terry Adams in 2002. Speaking of last-moment wins, the Phillies pulled off three in consecutive games against the Washington Nationals on June 23-25, the first two coming with the team down to its last strike, although there was no possibility of a walk-off as they were the visiting team at Nationals Park. On June 23rd, with two outs and the bases empty in the 9th, they trailed the Nats, 8-6, when Trea Turner singled off Brad Lord. The floodgates then opened as Brandon Marsh followed with a homer that tied the game, and after two more singles, Bryson Stott went deep as well. The following five batters all reached in turn before Marsh struck out to end the frame, but not before the Phillies had put up eight runs to take a 14-8 lead. They gave up a run in the bottom of the 9th but Orion Kerkering was gifted a true vulture win after he had blown the lead and coughed up three runs in the 8th. The following day, pinch-hitter Derek Hill was also down to his final strike, facing Richard Lovelady with a 4-3 deficit and pinch-runner Garrett Stubbs on first base, before he crushed a pitch out of the park to give Philly a 5-4 lead. Jhoan Duran then struck out the side for his 19th save. The third win was only slightly less dramatic as Harper hit a two-run homer off Gus Varland to break a 5-5 tie with nobody out in the 9th, and the Phillies then added three more runs for a 10-5 win.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Jhoan Duran, Bryce Harper, Jesus Luzardo, Brandon Marsh, Cristopher Sanchez and Kyle Schwarber

Further Reading

• Todd Zolecki: "Phillies dismiss Rob Thomson; Mattingly named interim manager", mlb.com, April 28, 2026. [1]
• Todd Zolecki: "Phillies the first team in 22 years to walk off twice in a doubleheader", mlb.com, May 1, 2026. [2]

2026 MLB season by team