PHILADELPHIA -- Kyle Schwarber blamed himself.

He dropped a catchable line drive hit directly at him with two outs in the 10th inning of Thursday afternoon’s 5-1 loss to the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. It allowed two runs to score to hand the Braves a three-run lead. It led to Marcell Ozuna’s two-run home run as the Phillies fell 10 games behind the Braves in the NL East with 88 games to play.

“That’s a play that I should make, plain and simple,” Schwarber said. “Don’t really know how [or] why [it happened], but I’ve got to catch it; plain and simple. That’s not on [Yunior] Marte, that’s not on anyone else. The game is on me. I’ve got to catch that ball. Obviously, frustrating. I feel if I catch it, we extend the game or we can win in the 10th.

“I saw it fine. I’ve got to catch it.”

The ball left Austin Riley’s bat at only 81.9 mph. It had a catch probability of 95 percent, according to Statcast.

It was ruled a hit.

Schwarber’s defense has been an issue this season -- he also did not get to a ball with a 95 percent catch probability in the sixth -- but it was far from the only reason the Braves swept the two-game series. But Schwarber entered Thursday second to last in baseball with -10 outs above average, according to Statcast, and last with -16 defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs.

“There’s been some plays I haven’t made,” Schwarber said. “I feel like I’ve made those plays in the past. I’ve got to be able to make them.”

Schwarber will get more opportunities, certainly at least until after the All-Star break. But in one scenario, if Bryce Harper moves from DH to first base in late July/early August, Schwarber could move to DH and Cristian Pache could play left field. (Phillies manager Rob Thomson has said he preferred Brandon Marsh to stay in center because Marsh has limited experience at the corners.) Pache is a brilliant defender. He was tied for fourth on the Phillies with +2 OAA and second with +3 DRS despite missing significant time this season because of a right knee injury.

“Trust me. When you make a play and you feel like you lose the game, it doesn’t make you feel good,” Schwarber said. “I’ve always said there are experiences, and I’ve had experiences before messing up some plays in left field. I’m going to work on it and be better for it.”

“Yeah, he’s had some misplays,” Thomson said. “But you’re certainly not going to take 20 home runs and his on-base [percentage] out of the lineup.”

Until Schwarber’s drop in the 10th, the Phillies’ offense had been the story because Philadelphia starters Ranger Suárez and Aaron Nola had allowed a combined one run in 12 innings in the series. The Phillies entered the series averaging 5.5 runs per game during a 13-2 run. They slashed .272/.337/.455 with a .792 OPS in that stretch, including .299/.359/.425 with a .784 OPS with runners in scoring position.

But Philadelphia had just four hits Thursday.

The team finished 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position in the series.

It is 20th in baseball in home runs this season.

“Personally, I feel like I’ve hit a thousand baseballs 180 mph and they’ve gone nowhere,” Harper said. “Hopefully, once July hits, the wind won’t keep blowing in and we’re not playing games where people are wearing sweatshirts in June. You can’t make excuses. Hit them where they’re not. It’s about hits, not exit velocity off the bat. Got to keep plugging.”

“I feel like we came off a really good stretch and battled through some games, even in Oakland,” Schwarber said. “Offensively, trust me, I think we’re going to keep working. We’re going to be fine when we come out of this.”

The Phillies have not conceded anything. It's only June. But a 10-game deficit to the Braves is big. They don't play Atlanta again until September.

On paper, a Wild Card berth looks like Philadelphia's most likely path to the postseason.

Asked if the Phillies can still run down the Braves, Harper said, “That’s always the plan, right? That’s what we want to do. We’ve just to play our caliber of baseball and do that.”