Giants manager Gabe Kapler felt bringing in Camilo Doval in the sixth inning was the right call given Doval’s effectiveness against right-handed hitters. Doval gave up hits to Jesus Aguilar and Miguel Rojas.
When the Giants landed in Philadelphia on Sunday, the buzz around town was that Phillies manager Joe Girardi could be let go at any moment.
It would have been awkward to do it with Gabe Kapler, also somewhat recently fired by the Phillies, back in town with a better team, but on Friday morning the Phillies finally made their move. Girardi was fired in the middle of his third season as Kapler's replacement, with the Phillies sitting at 22-29 after dropping two of three to the Giants. They are already 12 games behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East.
Girardi's final series in charge did end up being against Kapler, who came in as the reigning National League Manager of the Year. The Phillies fired Kapler in 2019 after two seasons in which he finished two games under .500. In three seasons since, they are 132-141, despite continuing to splash money on free agents like Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber.
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SIGN UP HERE The spending has led to more star power on the roster, but not enough balance or depth. That showed during this week's three-game series, and the Phillies continue to struggle to close out games, something that was an issue during Kapler's two years there, too.
RELATED: Kapler explains why he went to Doval early vs. Marlins
During an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Friday morning, Girardi noted that poor defense -- caused by signing multiple guys who should be a DH -- and bullpen issues led to the quick decision.
"We underperformed, and that falls on me," he said. "So this is what happens."
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Things are not likely to get better anytime soon for the Phillies, who named bench coach Rob Thomson their interim manager. They have not built from within and have not been able to add depth, something that has helped Kapler tremendously in his three seasons with Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris. Since coming to San Francisco, Kapler is 163-109 as a manager.