The Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi in early June when they were 22-29 and 12½ games out of first place in the NL East.
They immediately ran off eight wins in a row under interim manager Rob Thomson (they’d won their last game under Girardi).
Cause and effect? Probably not, but sometimes a new voice in the clubhouse helps. For more on the Phillies, here’s Ethan Witte, who runs our SB Nation Phillies site The Good Phight.
The Phillies come out of the All-Star break with a slim lead for the final playoff spot.