Phillies Notes: Galvis has only 1 hit in 30 at-bats

PHOENIX - The fickleness that is hitting was not lost on Freddy Galvis. The 24-year-old infielder is 1 for 30 (.033) to begin 2014, a season delayed by a MRSA infection. He started five games on this West Coast trip, went 0 for 21, and lamented his bad luck.

"I'd say in the last seven games, I've hit eight balls pretty good, and I have no hits," Galvis said. "But that's how it is. Sometimes you get five or six bloopers in a row and you have five hits."

Galvis struck out two times in each of his last four starts. Manager Ryne Sandberg played him at third base Saturday in an effort to help Galvis regain his swing. It did not happen.

The Phillies could send Galvis to triple-A Lehigh Valley for regular playing time to fix what ails him. Sandberg, though, values Galvis' defense and ability from the bench.

His struggles at the plate have appeared to affect him in the field, although Galvis made a key play in the ninth inning Sunday when inserted as a defensive replacement at third. Before that, Galvis made a few uncharacteristic missteps in the field during the road trip. It is tough, he said, to leave the hitting in the dugout.

"But you have to do it," Galvis said. "In the past year, I learned that you need to know the difference between your defense and your offense."

There are no indications that the Phillies are willing to swap Galvis for Cesar Hernandez, who made the team's opening-day roster. The Phillies demoted Hernandez to double-A Reading earlier this month so he could learn new positions.

"He's adjusting pretty good," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We're trying to get him on the left side [of the infield] as much as possible to increase his versatility."

Hernandez played his 10th game at third base Sunday for Reading. He has started twice at shortstop. The 23-year-old Venezuelan committed five errors in those games. The team abandoned its center-field experiment with Hernandez; he started 22 games there for the Phillies in 2013.

Carlos Ruiz rested Sunday. He batted .500 (11 for 22) with a .593 on-base percentage and .909 slugging percentage last week. Six of his 11 hits were for extra bases. . . . The Phillies are 5 for 7 in replay challenges this season. They won a crucial one Saturday when Ruiz recovered from a passed ball to throw out Martin Prado at second base in the ninth inning. . . . Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez (shoulder) threw a 40-pitch simulated game Sunday. Amaro said his fastball reached 94 m.p.h. The team expects Gonzalez, who signed a three-year, $12 million deal, to pitch in rehabilitation games soon. He eventually will be assigned to a high-minors team as a starter.