Philadelphia Phillies: Joe Girardi shines in blowout win over the Red Sox
By David Esser
Joe Girardi and the Philadelphia Phillies had their way with the Boston Red Sox
When the Philadelphia Phillies finally let go of Gabe Kapler this past offseason, fans of the team were expecting something big out of their next manager. The team had massively disappointed in 2019, and a handful of their “key players” were already starting to regress under Kapler’s realm of control (see: Rhys Hoskins).
Enter Joe Girardi.
A World Series Champion with the New York Yankees back in 2009, Girardi was a dream hire for pretty much everyone in the city of Philadelphia. He had an old-school approach to the game, a long history of developing and molding talent, a reputation for building winning cultures, and of course that shiny Commissioner’s Trophy that he actually beat the Phillies for.
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Despite getting off to a slow start to the season, Girardi has lived up to the hype thus far. The team has massively improved at the plate, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler look like aces, and star players JT Realmuto and Bryce Harper have even improved their game under Girardi’s lead.
During Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox, we saw just how good of a manager Girardi truly is.
In a bit of trouble early on due to a rough start from Zach Eflin, Girardi made the first of many crucial decisions on the night when he turned to reliever Blake Parker with a man on first.
The Phillies have obviously struggled with their bullpen recently, so Girardi really had to make the right call here to stop the bleeding.
Parker worked out of the jam almost perfectly, allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly. This kept the Phillies within just two runs at the time, keeping them mentally in the ballgame as they would go on to explode in the sixth inning.
During the Phillies gigantic seven-run sixth inning (their most in a single inning this year), Girardi flexed his managerial muscle on a handful of decisions. He pinch-hit for Scott Kingery, putting in the red hot Phil Gosselin who scorched a double off the monster (Gosselin also homered later in the game).
Girardi also had Roman Quinn steal second base, which led to him scoring with ease on an Andrew McCutchen single. The Phillies manager had Cutch steal as well, putting the pressure on the Red Sox reliever as he would swiftly walk Rhys Hoskins, setting up Harper for a behemoth three-run home run.
These may seem like small decisions on paper, but in reality, these are exactly the types of moves that separates winning teams from losing teams. A key bullpen decision, a pinch-hitter, a steal here or there. These are your stereotypical “old school moves” that Phillies fans desperately craved under Kapler.
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It obviously helps when the bats are swinging well, and Girardi got production up and down his lineup on Tuesday. However, don’t undervalue the importance that the team’s manager played. Starting all the way back in the fifth inning, Girardi was calling shots that set the team up for success. Now we all get to head into Game Two of the series feeling happy and confident, as the Philadelphia Phillies look to extend their winning streak to six games.