Phillies fire Canadian manager Rob Thomson following 11th loss in 12 games

Canadian manager Rob Thomson, who led the Phillies to four straight playoff appearances, including the 2022 World Series, was fired on Tuesday after Philadelphia lost 11 of 12 games and began the day tied for last place in the majors.

Bench coach Don Mattingly was named interim manager through the end of the season and third-base coach Dusty Wathan was promoted to bench coach.

Mattingly joined the Phillies in the off-season after three years as the bench coach and offensive co-ordinator with the Toronto Blue Jays.

With Mattingly's promotion, Philadelphia has the first father/son general manager and manager in major league history. Preston Mattingly is the team's GM.

Thomson went 355-270 and had led a Phillies team loaded with high-priced talent that included Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to consecutive division titles. The 62-year-old Thomson, a baseball lifer finally promoted to his first managerial stint in 2022, signed a contract extension in the off-season running through the 2027 season and was again expected to lead the Phillies into World Series contention.

Thomson was born in Sarnia, Ont., but home was just down the highway in Corunna, a small town of about 2,000.

Instead, the Phillies and their $300-plus million US payroll have been one of the biggest flops in the baseball and had lost 10 straight games before ace Zack Wheeler led them to a win against Atlanta on Saturday. The Phillies lost to Atlanta on Sunday and fell to 9-19 overall, tied with the divisional rival New York Mets.

Thomson is the second manager fired in baseball this season after the Red Sox fired Alex Cora and five coaches on Saturday.

Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies' president of baseball operations, gave Thomson a vote of