.Its a group thing. Theres always input. The final say is Trents, and thats the way it should be

PHILADELPHIA -- Freddy Galvis has a handwritten note stuck on his locker reminding him to keep the ball out of the air.Theres no signature. Its simply inscribed (hash)No. 20.Even Mike Schmidt (yes, The No. 20) could agree that if Galvis does put the ball in the air, it may as well soar out of the park.Galvis continued his home run surge, hitting his 19th of the season to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.Galvis connected on a two-run shot in the second inning off Steven Brault (0-3) for his 10th homer in the last 32 games. Known more as a defensive whiz since taking over for Jimmy Rollins at shortstop, Galvis has been a bright spot offensively for the Phillies. He already has career highs in doubles, homers, extra-base hits, RBI and stolen bases, though his .239 average and .271 on-base percentage need considerable improvement.I dont know if Im surprised, he said. All I know is, I put in a good workout in my offseason and worked really hard to prove I could play baseball every day.The 26-year-old switch hitter changed his approach early last month after a session with hitting coach Steve Henderson. Galvis kept all his weight on his back leg during his swing and suddenly found the pop that was missing.Galvis had 20 career homers in 322 games entering this season.His newfound power could be enough to overcome his measly OBP.I remember a few years when Jimmy Rollins didnt hit a whole lot, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. You can live with a guy like that.Tommy Joseph hit his 19th homer for the Phillies. Jeanmar Gomez got the final two outs of the ninth for his 37th save.The Phillies won two of the first three in the four-game series and all but knocked the Pirates out of the hunt in the NL wild card. The Pirates were six games back entering Wednesday and appear set to have their playoff streak end at three seasons. They had the second-best record in baseball behind only the St. Louis Cardinals from 2013-15.Brault allowed nine hits and five runs in 3 2/3 innings. He remained winless in seven career starts.The Phillies have long been out of the playoff picture and -- like so many teams playing out the string -- are looking for any kind of positive to end the season. Galvis has been one. Joseph showed power in his rookie season. Speedy rookie outfielder Roman Quinn has been solid in September.Quinn even threw out a runner at the plate in the ninth to snuff a Pirates rally.We had two outs to play with, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. We made a bad decision there.The Phillies got a rare boost on the mound from righty Jake Thompson (2-5). Thompson, who won for the first time since Aug. 12, allowed six hits and two runs over six solid innings.Against the Pirates, he was sharp enough in front of a small and lifeless crowd to show how he went 11-5 in the minors this season and was considered valuable enough to be included in last years Cole Hamels deal with Texas.Andrew McCutchen hit his 21st homer for the Pirates.STRIKEOUTS ARE BORINGDouble-A Reading OF Dylan Cozens won the 2016 Joe Bauman award as minor league baseballs home run champion with 40. The award is named for Bauman, who set a professional record in 1954 with 72 home runs for the Roswell Rockets of the Class-C Longhorn League.OPENING UPThe 2017 schedule was released on Wednesday. The Pirates will open April 3-6 at Boston in their first trip there since 2005. The Phillies open the season April 3 at Cincinnati.FLASH A SIGNFormer Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, traded last month to the Dodgers, thanked fans with a sign of appreciation on a billboard off I-95. The billboard read: I loved playing for you. You will always be in my heart. Thank you, Philly! -- ChoochSTREAK SNAPPEDPhillies LF Tyler Goeddel singled in the second inning to snap an 0-for-21 streak.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Chad Kuhl (3-3, 4.09 ERA) will make his 11th career start. Hes lost each of his last three decisions, though the Pirates have won seven of his 10 starts.Phillies: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (10-13, 3.73 ERA) has pitched six innings in each of his last five starts and six of seven overall. Whitney Mercilus Jersey .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. Zach Cunningham Jersey .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. http://www.cheaptexansjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-chris-landrum-jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Cullen Gillaspia Jersey . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. A.J. Moore Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick will get one more opportunity to try to claim the starting job in the teams preseason finale Thursday night, coach Chip Kelly said Tuesday.Kaepernick will play against the San Diego Chargers, though Kelly hasnt yet decided how many snaps he will get. Blaine Gabbert, the presumptive favorite to get the starting job, will not play in the game.Kelly said he would like to finalize a decision on the starting quarterback after the preseason finale, with an announcement coming as early as Friday.Citing Kaepernicks lack of repetitions because of injuries and the additional reps that Gabbert has received as a result, Kelly said its necessary to ensure Kaepernick gets a longer look as he is satisfied with Gabberts workload to this point.We plan on playing Kap in the game, just because hes got only 13 snaps so far in the preseason, Kelly said. Gabbert will not play. Hes had 43 snaps in the preseason.Kaepernick made his preseason debut last week against the Green Bay Packers after missing the first two exhibition contests because of right shoulder tightness. He went 2-of-6 for 14 yards and rushed for 18 yards on four carries in one quarter of work.He made national headlines for declining to stand for the National Anthem?prior to the game against the Packers, saying he did not want to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.Kaepernicks intention to once again sit during the anthem before the teams final exhibition game will coincide with the Chargers 28th Annual Salute to the Military, a tribute to the hundreds of thousands of current and retired military personnel inn the San Diego area.dddddddddddd. The national anthem will be performed by Petty Officer 1st Class Steven Powell from the U.S. Navy while a joint-service color guard will present the flag, according to the release from the Chargers.Gabbert has started all three preseason games to this point. He has gone 12-of-22 for 146 yards and a touchdown for a 90.3 passer rating.Considering Kaepernicks injury issues and his lack of body of work this preseason, rumors have swirled that his roster spot could be in jeopardy.Kelly again said -- as he has in the past -- that no conversations about releasing Kaepernick have taken place.We knew we were not going to release any quarterbacks at the cut to 75, so we havent had a discussion about the quarterbacks position, Kelly said. We kind of go through it position by position, and how many do we have to have to play in the Chargers game. You dont want to leave yourself short.While Kelly and offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins have indicated recently that Kaepernick will be on the Week 1 roster, the head coach said Tuesday that Kaepernick is one of the two best quarterbacks on the roster right now.I dont have control of the 53-man roster, so I dont say who were picking, said Kelly, adding that decision falls on general manager Trent Baalke. We havent had one discussion about the quarterbacks.Its a group thing. Theres always input. The final say is Trents, and thats the way it should be