Phils' miscues loom large in close loss to Bucs

PITTSBURGH -- In the eyes of Freddy Galvis, one play was the difference in the Phillies' 1-0 loss to the Pirates on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park -- and he made it.

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In the bottom of the 11th inning with two outs and still scoreless, Galvis charged a soft ground ball to throw out Jose Tabata at first. It was a routine play for the 25-year-old shortstop, one that Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said Galvis makes all the time.

Instead of converting the third out of the inning, Galvis gave the Pirates and their packed house a reason for excitement. He overthrew first baseman Ryan Howard, sailing the ball into the stands and moving Tabata to second while Neil Walker took third base.

Pirates infielder Josh Harrison followed up with a single on the first pitch he saw from reliever Jonathan Papelbon, sealing Pittsburgh's sweep of the Phillies.

"Just made a bad throw," Galvis said. "One mistake cost us the game."

Galvis blamed himself, but there were other examples of the Phillies faltering in routine situations. The most egregious, other than Galvis' miscue, was from Ben Revere.

After leading off the ninth inning with a single, Revere did well to steal second base, and he nearly swiped third base, too. By all accounts, he should have been safe at third.

Video: PHI@PIT: Revere slides past third, Kang applies tag

Revere, the Phillies' leader in steals, clearly beat the high throw from Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli. But mid-slide, he momentarily took his foot off the bag, third baseman Jung Ho Kang kept his mitt on Revere the whole way, and he was called out.

Had Revere stayed on, the Phillies would have had Chase Utley at the plate with one out -- an opportunity at a game-changing sacrifice.

"That's a prime position for us that was taken away," Sandberg said.

The Phillies, losers of six straight and nine of their last 10, aren't in a position where they can overcome routine mishaps. In the weekend sweep, the offense couldn't provide much run support for the pitchers, going 1-for-25 with runners in scoring position in Pittsburgh.

Add in mistakes like Galvis' error and Revere's faulty slide, and the Phillies made it difficult for themselves.