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. Custom Kyrie Irving Jersey . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. Custom Cavaliers Jersey China . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. http://www.customcavaliersjersey.com/ . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Kyrie Irving Jersey Large . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Authentic Custom Cavaliers Jersey . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Long before he confronted the difficult decision of trying a 62-yard field goal in overtime, Gary Kubiak made another call that would come back to haunt him.The Broncos coach didnt go for two after Bennie Fowlers 76-yard touchdown gave Denver a seven-point lead over Kansas City late in the fourth quarter Sunday night.A 2-point conversion would have made it a two-score game.No, were going up by eight there, said Kubiak, who sent Brandon McManus out for the extra point that made it 24-16.With this defense, an eight-point lead late in the game seems downright insurmountable.In last years AFC championship, the Broncos surrendered a touchdown throw from Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski with 12 seconds left but Bradley Roby intercepted Bradys 2-point conversion attempt, sealing the Broncos 20-18 win that propelled them to the Super Bowl.This is largely that same defense that brought home the Lombardi Trophy two weeks later, save for the departures of Malik Jackson (whom the Broncos will face in Jacksonville on Sunday) and Danny Trevathan.If you give us an eight-point lead, I would bet my game check that no one would score on us, said cornerback Aqib Talib, who pulls in $500,000 a game, before taxes. So, I would have been in debt right now.Heres what made that seem like such a safe bet:-After the touchback, the Chiefs had 75 yards to go. They had averaged a mere 12 yards per drive on their first dozen possessions to that point.-They had three minutes and no timeouts remaining.-The Broncos were the fresher team, coming off a bye.Yet, after Derek Wolfe sacked Alex Smith for a 7-yard loss on first down, the strength of Denvers team suddenly couldnt find the game-saving plays that have defined them as one of the best clutch defenses ever.Kayvon Webster was whistled for holding, Von Miller jumped offside, T.J. Ward was flagged for illegal contact.Even after forcing three incompletions from their 14, the Broncos couldnt stop the Chiefs on fourth-and-10 with 15 seconds remaining. Tyreek Hill caught an 11-yard pass on Roby, who had inexplicably lined up behind the first-down marker.Hill hauled in the touchdown pass on the next play, the ball rattling off his shoulder pads before he secured it while sitting on tthe goal line when a clean catch probably comes up short and time runs out.ddddddddddddInstead, its 24-22 and 6-foot-7 tight end Demetrius Harris lined up across 5-10 cornerback Chris Harris Jr.I had never even heard of him, the Broncos Harris said of the Chiefs Harris, who played basketball at UW-Milwaukee but had to play club football because the Panthers dont field a football team.Smith hit Harris for the tying 2-pointer that sent the game into overtime, which Kansas City won 30-27 on Cairo Santos banked field goal as time expired .The debate ever since has centered on Kubiaks decision to try a 62-yard field goal knowing it was a low-percentage shot in the cold November night and that a miss would likely mean a loss because the Chiefs would take over at the Denver 48 needing just one first down against a gassed defense.A punt essentially concedes the tie -- and maybe loses the locker room.How do you tell a team thats fought hard for 74 minutes that youre not going to send out a kicker whos made 70-yarders in camp and had hit from 62 yards in pregame?A tie would be better for them in the standings -- now the Broncos are scrambling for a wild card at 7-4 -- but going for the win was worth it, Kubiak figured. If McManus makes it, the Broncos are breathing down the Raiders backs with a sixth straight AFC West crown in sight.Theres a lot of football left to play. It was a divisional football game and we need to win our divisional football games and we had a chance to do it with something that our kicker has done before. He did it before the game, Kubiak said. Its me showing confidence in him and confidence in our defense if it doesnt happen.I believe in our football team.And his players trust their coach.I like the fact that we went for the win, said Fowler, suggesting theres a stronger resolve than ever to reward Kubiaks faith in them now.Yeah, definitely, weve got Kubes back and hes got our back. So, were in this together.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '