Philadelphia Phillies fire manager Joe Girardi after 22-29 start

The Philadelphia Phillies have fired manager Joe Girardi, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced Friday.

The move was made with the Phillies at 22-29, having lost seven of their past nine games and sitting in third place in the National League East, 12 games behind the New York Mets.

«It has been a frustrating season for us up until this point, as we feel that our club has not played up to its capabilities,» Dombrowski said in a statement. «While all of us share the responsibility for the shortcomings, I felt that a change was needed and that a new voice in the clubhouse would give us the best chance to turn things around.»

After the Phillies' announcement, Girardi made his regular appearance on Sirius XM's MLB Network Radio, saying, «We underperformed and that falls on me. This is what happens.» Girardi noted struggles in the bullpen and some slow offensive starts among the «number of reasons we didn't win.»

«I think you can overcome, sometimes, one thing, maybe even two, but sometimes when it's more than that, I think it's somewhat difficult,» Girardi said. "… I just pray that they, you know, get better and they get to the playoffs."

Girardi, 57, had served as Phillies manager for the past three seasons, going 132-141 as Philadelphia continues to seek its first playoff appearance since 2011.

In 14 seasons as a major league manager for the Marlins, Yankees and Phillies, Girardi is 1,120-935, winning a World Series with New York in 2009.

Also dismissed Friday was coaching assistant Bobby Meacham, who had joined the team in 2020 along with Girardi.

The Phillies have a $224 million payroll and boast 2021 NL MVP Bryce Harper and NL Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, All-Star catcher J.T.