Phillies end 1-6 road trip with 5-4 loss to the Cubs
Chicago won it in the 13th on a Galvis errant throw.
CHICAGO - Freddy Galvis gripped the ball in his right hand and the Phillies believed for a moment Thursday afternoon that they had somehow escaped another inning. The smooth shortstop turns double plays with ease. A Cubs rally would surely be finished.
But Galvis stunningly fired his throw wide of first base, the winning run raced home from third, and a 5-4 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field was finally over. The Phillies played 13 innings only to lose on an error by their top infielder. A brutal way to end a brutal road trip.
"He's so good defensively, you don't expect him to make any errors," manager Pete Mackanin said. "When he makes an error, I'm shocked. I know he feels terrible. It's a bad way to lose. He won't lose confidence, he's too good a player."
The Phillies left Philadelphia last week as winners of six in a row. They returned home Thursday night after a seven-game road trip that featured just one win. Just one of the six losses on the trip was by more than two runs. The Phillies hung with the Dodgers and Cubs - two of baseball's premier teams - but left wanting more.
Joely Rodriguez, who was on the mound for Galvis' error, pitched the final three innings. Albert Almora Jr. tagged him for a double to start the third. Rodriguez then picked up a groundout and intentionally walked Ben Zobrist to bring up Matt Szczur with two on and one out.
Szczur, who grew up in Cape May and went to Villanova, slapped what seemed to be an inning-ending double play to Galvis. Instead, it was the winning knock. It was Galvis' second error of the game - he misfired a throw to first in the third inning. But that error did not cause any runs to score.
"It's really frustrating," said Galvis who iced his hand after the game but said he was fine. "We want to win every single game. Today, I made two mistakes and we lost the game. Of course, I'm going to feel bad. I want to win every single game. Turn the page and go after it tomorrow."
The game did not look as if it would reach extras when Jeanmar Gomez faced Kris Bryant in the ninth inning with one out and runners on first and second. But Gomez made a pick-off at second base to catch Zobrist. Anthony Rizzo then grounded out to the mound. Trouble was averted.
A loss seemed near again in the 12th, when the Cubs loaded the bases with one out. The quick-thinking Mackanin removed rightfielder Michael Saunders for utility player Ty Kelly, giving the Phillies a fifth infielder. The move worked. Willson Contreras grounded into a double play - from Galvis to Kelly to Stassi - that was scored 6-9-3. Stassi pumped his fist after catching the out. The Phillies escaped.
Before the escapes from defeat, the Phillies were just six outs away from salvaging a series split. Cameron Rupp blasted a leadoff homer in the eighth to give the Phillies a one-run lead.
But the bullpen could not protect it. Joaquin Benoit coughed up the lead 15 minutes later, when he yielded a homer to Miguel Montero. It was the 21st homer allowed this season by a Phillies reliever, the most by any bullpen in baseball.
The Phillies had another chance in the 11th, when they loaded the bases for the second time in four innings. Just as in the seventh, the Phillies came up empty - Michael Saunders struck out and Andres Blanco popped up. Two innings later, Galvis fielded a grounder and the game was over.
"That was a tough one to lose. The guys played hard, battled," Mackanin said. "Freddy feels terrible. As good as he is, he's human."
@matt_breen www.philly.com/philliesblog