SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA- OCTOBER 30: Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants speaks during a press conference to introduce Tony Vitello as the new manager at Oracle Park on October 30, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images)
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The Philadelphia Phillies enjoyed a strong start to a brand-new era after opening the season as one of baseball’s biggest disappointments.
On Tuesday, the team announced that it had replaced long-time manager Rob Thomson with bench coach Don Mattingly and the players responded as fans might have hoped. After voicing some regret that they had not played well enough for Thomson to retain his job, they produced one of the most complete games of the campaign so far and earned a win against the San Francisco Giants.
“Jesús Luzardo entered the game with a 6.91 ERA, but he pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out eight. He is the first Phillies’ pitcher to complete seven innings this season,” Todd Zolecki wrote for MLB.com. “Bryce Harper, Adolis García and Alec Bohm each doubled. Bohm had two hits. He entered the game with the lowest OPS (.412) in the Majors. Trea Turner logged his first four-hit game of the season as the 2025 National League batting champ entered the game batting .230 with a .658 OPS.”
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With more than 130 games remaining in the season and a significant gap to close if they want to make the playoffs, the Phillies will have to hope they can continue that momentum deep into the Mattingly era. And the Giants will be looking to derail that momentum before it can develop into a win streak, as the National League West team looks to take the second game of the series on Wednesday.
The Giants are expected to start franchise ace Logan Webb against Phillies’ lefty Cristopher Sanchez. And shortly before the first pitch, news surfaced that the Giants had called up reliever Gregory Santos to join them at Citizens Bank Park.
“The San Francisco Giants have called up right-hander Gregory Santos,” MLB insider Francys Romero reported on X, formerly Twitter. “Santos, 26, will join the team today in Philadelphia. He posted a 2.45 ERA over 11 innings in Triple-A Sacramento.”
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The Giants’ relief corps haven’t cried out for reinforcement, as they have posted one of the best ERAs in the majors so far, though Blade Tidwell gave up four hits and two earned runs in just two innings on Tuesday.
Even so, Santos’ strong start in Triple-A suggests he could help the big-league club win its series in Philadelphia as the Giants seek a surge in the standings of their own. And Santos has some big-league experience to rely on, as he pitched for the Giants in 2021 and 2022, then for the Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners. In a five-year career, Santos has maintained a 4.17 ERA across more than 86 innings, with five saves in 22 total games finished.