Blue Jays Fire Manager Charlie Montoyo in Middle of Phillies Series

Blue Jays fire their manager a day after strange situation vs. Phillies originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Three MLB managers have been fired this season and the Phillies have been involved in each situation.

They fired Joe Girardi on June 3.

The Angels fired Joe Maddon on June 7, one game after the Phillies swept them in a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

And on Wednesday, a game into the Phils' series in Toronto, the Blue Jays surprisingly fired manager Charlie Montoyo. Montoyo had just had his contract extended in April through the end of the 2023 season with club options for 2024 and 2025.

The Phillies and Blue Jays have identical 46-42 records. There were huge expectations on both teams, for different reasons -- the Phillies because they loaded up on free agents a third straight winter, the Blue Jays because of their exciting young nucleus and a couple of starting pitching additions.

Toronto is currently in the third AL wild-card spot, while the Phillies are a game behind the Cardinals for the final NL playoff position.

There was a play in Tuesday's game -- a Blue Jays win over the Phillies -- that certainly stands out even more a day later. Jose Berrios struck out Matt Vierling in the fourth inning on a ball in the dirt that did not get past the catcher. It was a nonchalant, routine play for the catcher to throw to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to finish the out, but Guerrero's foot missed the bag and Vierling was ruled safe. The Blue Jays quickly challenged despite Guerrero telling them not to, and once they did, he was demonstrably upset, gesturing repeatedly toward his own dugout. The call was upheld in the Phillies' favor, and Phils color analyst Ben Davis wondered aloud if Montoyo would remove Guerrero from the game for showing up his coaching staff.

An afternoon later, Montoyo is out. Bench coach and Princeton, New Jersey, native John Schneider will take over as the Blue Jays' interim manager.