Phillies’ Don Mattingly hits personal milestone with 2-1 win over Red Sox

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Tuesday night, taking the first game of a three-game set. Zach Wheeler was sensational, hurling 7.1 innings of one-run ball to earn the win. The Phillies have turned it around under interim manager Don Mattingly, who secured his 900th career win as a bench boss on Tuesday.

“Don Mattingly wins his 900th career game as manager, and is now 11-3 since taking over as manager of the Phillies,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported.

Mattingly spent five seasons as the Los Angeles Dodgers manager from 2011-2015, going 446-363 in the regular season. But they made the NLCS just once and never made the World Series, so they moved on to Dave Roberts. Three World Series titles later, and that has worked out. Mattingly took over for the Miami Marlins in 2016, picking up 443 wins in seven seasons there. Now, in just a few weeks with the Phillies, Donnie Baseball has 900 career wins.

The Phillies fired Rob Thomson after three consecutive 90-win seasons due to a dreadful start. But since they made the 2022 World Series, their playoff results have been middling. That 2022 World Series appearance came after Joe Girardi was fired mid-season for Thomson. Maybe Dave Dombrowski has found his magical process in 2026.

Mattingly made his first World Series appearance in over 40 years in MLB as an assistant coach on the Toronto Blue Jays staff last year. He could not secure the ring, as the Jays lost to the Dodgers in seven games. Mattingly left the club, landing with the Phillies as the bench coach. After Thomson’s firing, and Alex Cora turning down the gig, Mattingly became the bench boss again.

The Phillies are hot and have two games left at Fenway Park to continue feasting on the lowly Red Sox. Could win No. 901 be on the way for Mattingly?

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