The Arizona Diamondbacks called up top prospect Alek Thomas from Triple-A Reno on Sunday.

The 22-year-old outfielder was set to make his major league debut Sunday against the visiting Colorado Rockies. He was in the lineup batting eighth and starting in center field.

Thomas is Arizona’s No. 1 prospect and rated No. 18 overall by MLB Pipeline. The 2018 second-round draft pick was the Diamondbacks’ 2021 minor league player of the year.

He is batting .277/.362/.495 at Reno this season with four homers and 14 RBIs in 24 games.

Thomas replaces catcher Carson Kelly on the active roster. Kelly was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday, with a strained left oblique.

Kelly, 27, is batting .105 with one RBI and 20 strikeouts in 20 games this season.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Phillies placed right-handers Zack Wheeler and Zach Eflin on the COVID-related injured list Sunday.

Left-hander Cristopher Sanchez was named the 27th man for Sunday’s home doubleheader against the New York Mets and will replace Eflin as the starter in Game 2.

The Phillies recalled right-hander Connor Brogdon from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and right-hander Francisco Morales form Double-A Reading in corresponding transactions.

Wheeler, 31, is 1-3 with a 4.10 ERA through five starts this season. He made the All-Star team in 2021 and was runner-up in the National League Cy Young Award voting after finishing 14-10 with a 2.78 ERA and a league-leading 247 strikeouts.

Eflin, 28, is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA through five starts in his seventh season with the Phillies.

Sanchez, 25, is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in four appearances this season. He’s given up six runs on eight hits and five walks with 10 strikeouts in 10 innings.

Brogdon, 27, has made three relief appearances this season for the Phillies, allowing two runs on four hits in two innings. He has a 1.35 ERA with two saves in seven games for Lehigh Valley.

Morales, 22, is 1-0 with a 0.55 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings in nine relief appearances at Reading. He has yet to make his major league debut.

–Field Level Media

The Boston Red Sox placed right-hander Michael Wacha on the 15-day injured list with left intercostal irritation.

He was scratched from Sunday’s start against the Chicago White Sox after experiencing soreness in his side. His injury designation is retroactive to Thursday.

Right-hander Tanner Houck started in place of Wacha for the series finale at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox also recalled right-hander Tyler Danish from Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding transaction.

Wacha, 30, has been Boston’s best starter so far this season. He is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA through five starts.

Danish, 27, appeared in four games for the Red Sox last month and posted a 3.86 ERA in 4 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

The New York Yankees placed outfielder Tim Locastro on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left lat strain.

Right-hander Ron Marinaccio was recalled from Triple- A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and outfielder Estevan Florial added as the 27th man for Sunday’s home doubleheader against the Texas Rangers.

Locastro, 29, is batting .231 with one homer and two RBIs in 15 games this season. The Yankees acquired him in a July 2021 trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Marinaccio, 26, made four relief appearances with New York in April and posted an 11.25 ERA with no decisions.

Florial, 24, is batting .272 with two homers, nine RBIs and eight stolen bases in 22 games this season in Triple-A.

–Field Level Media

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black wanted his lineup to be more aggressive yet also more selective at the plate on Saturday after his team was subdued a night earlier by Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly in Phoenix.

The Rockies had more strikeouts (eight) than hits (seven) against Kelly in a 4-1 loss.

Black got what he wanted Saturday but things looked bleak again going to the ninth inning.

Colorado faced the prospect of its sixth straight road loss with another scoring shortage against the Diamondbacks, trailing 1-0 with two outs in the ninth.

That’s when Colorado rallied for four runs against Arizona closer Mark Melancon, who blew the save by allowing consecutive run-scoring singles to Yonathon Daza, Jose Iglesias and Connor Joe as part of a four-run rally in the 4-1 win.

“We have been aggressive, which at times can be really advantageous,” Black said. “You are on the attack as an offense, and you find, a lot of times, good pitchers throw first-pitch strikes. So be ready to hit.

“But at times that can work against you. Temper that aggressiveness with truly making sure you are swinging at good pitches to hit.”

The upstart Diamondbacks, buoyed by their starting pitching, must feel snakebitten after coming so close to reaching their fifth straight win — a feat they did not achieve last season.

“We played well enough to win but I think we could have done more to make it a little bit easier on ourselves,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve gotta regroup and come out tomorrow ready.”

Right-hander Zac Gallen, one of three Arizona starters with an ERA of 1.50 or less, will start Sunday against Colorado right-hander German Marquez (0-2, 6.92 ERA) in the rubber match of the three-game series.

Gallen (1-0, 1.27) does not qualify to be among the National League ERA leaders because he has pitched 21 1/3 innings in Arizona’s 28 games (a pitcher must pitch at least one inning per number of games played by his team to be rated among the leaders).

Kelly has an ERA of 1.22 in 37 innings. Madison Bumgarner has a 1.50 ERA in 24 innings.

Gallen is 2-1 with a 2.48 ERA in seven career starts against the Rockies.

Marquez has faced the Diamondbacks 19 times, including 18 starts, in his career and is 5-5 with a 3.98 ERA.

Lovullo was impressed by Saturday’s starter, Zach Davies, who allowed only three hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out six and walking two.

“Zach Davies was fantastic for six and a third and it’s the first time he’s been over 100 pitches,” said Lovullo of Davies, who had 104 pitches. “His pitch count ran up and we turned it over to the bullpen. They did a really nice job and handed it off Mark. But we’ll get them (Sunday).”

Colorado’s Kyle Freeland was equally impressive as Davies on Saturday with five strikeouts and two walks in six scoreless innings while scattering five hits.

–Field Level Media

It might seem like a grind at times, but Walker Buehler continues to see positive results on the mound for the surging Los Angeles Dodgers.

Buehler will look to help the visiting Dodgers to a sixth straight win and series sweep of the Cubs, who have dropped four in a row, on Sunday night.

A Sunday afternoon roster move will keep Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman out of the start, with left-hander Justin Steele getting the call against the Dodgers instead. Stroman was placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons.

After going 1-1 with a 4.02 ERA in his first three 2022 starts, Buehler (3-1, 2.12 ERA) has thrown 14 scoreless innings to win his past two. Following his complete-game, three-hit, 10-strikeout performance at Arizona on April 25, the right-hander opened May by yielding six hits, but no runs, over five innings in Los Angeles’ 6-3 home win over Detroit last Sunday.

“To still manage an outing, to up some zeroes, get him back on line for his next start — that’s what top-end guys do,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Buehler, who won a career-high 16 games in 2021.

Buehler is 0-1 in four regular-season starts against the Cubs, but he has a 2.92 ERA in those outings. He might have a good chance to lower that ERA against a Chicago club that was outscored 13-2 while being swept in Saturday’s split doubleheader.

Losers in 13 of 16 since starting 6-4, the Cubs have been outscored 45-11 during their current 1-7 rut.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, have outscored their opponents 31-7 while going 5-0 in May. This is the second time they’ve won at least five straight games this season.

Stroman finally seemed to be pitching like the guy the Cubs gave $71 million over three years to during the offseason. He had a 1.38 ERA over his last two outings, but he will hit pause for the time being.

Steele (1-3, 5.50) will make his sixth start of the season and the 15th of his career, all over the past two seasons. He last started April 30, giving up four runs (two earned) over three innings in a 9-1 road loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Steele did face the Dodgers last season, but just for a scoreless inning on May 4 when he had two strikeouts. It ended up being his first career victory, though.

The loss of Stroman comes at an inopportune time for the Cubs, who have been searching for rotation stability. Left-hander Drew Smyly started Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Dodgers after eight days off, while on the bereavement list, and gave up three runs (two earned) over 4 1/3 innings. But Los Angeles won Game 1 by a 7-0 score and won Game 2 by a 6-2 count.

“We have the mindset that we’re going to lead this team to a victory, and go pitch well and do our job,” Smyly said about the Cubs’ starters. “It takes a lot to win a game. They’re never easy. I think we’re throwing the ball pretty well.”

The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts is back to looking like an All-Star again following a slow start. Betts delivered a three-run double and two-run homer during the Dodgers’ Game 2 victory Saturday.

Betts is batting .387 (12-for-31) with three home runs and eight RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak.

Chicago’s Nico Hoerner has never faced Buehler, but he is one of the few Cubs striking the ball by batting .316 during a five-game hitting streak.

It’s uncertain if the Cubs’ Patrick Wisdom will miss time after he exited Saturday’s nightcap with an ankle issue.

–Field Level Media

After being swept in a four-game series in Seattle last season, the Tampa Bay Rays and their resurgent offense will look to return the favor to the host Mariners on Sunday.

The Rays earned their season-high sixth straight victory Saturday night in an 8-2 rout of the Mariners, who have dropped six consecutive games.

As the Rays’ seven-game trip started, manager Kevin Cash changed the order by moving right-handed hitter Yandy Diaz into the leadoff spot and No. 1 hitter Brandon Lowe — a lefty swinger — into the cleanup role.

In the revamped lineup, Diaz has gone going 7-for-25 with a homer, double, five runs and three RBIs. Lowe, who batted fifth Saturday, has at least one hit in every game (6-for-15) on the trip with two homers, a double, five runs and three RBIs.

In a six-game hitting streak, Lowe is hitting .368, while Manuel Margot has batted .440 with five extra-base hits and 12 RBIs in a seven-game hitting streak.

Margot’s first career grand slam Saturday came on the heels of a three-run shot to win Friday’s game.

“I’ve never really had that many opportunities to hit a grand slam, and that time I did,” Margot said.

Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 19.29 ERA) will make his second start after working through a groin injury early in the season. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in one career start against the Mariners, on Aug. 11, 2019.

In that one, the left-hander was pulled by Cash after allowing just three hits in 8 2/3 scoreless innings. The Rays won 1-0.

Before Saturday’s game, the Rays demoted struggling left-hander Josh Fleming (2-3, 6.38).

The main effect of sending him down will be opening up a starter or bulk-innings role for lefty Jeffrey Springs (1-0, 0.69), who has allowed one run on seven hits in 13 innings across nine outings.

In Anaheim on Monday, Springs is expected to pitch in an extended role in the Rays’ series opener against the Los Angeles Angels.

Mariners manager Scott Servais will look for his club, which is 1-10 in its past 11 games, to get a boost from pitcher George Kirby in his first start in the majors on Sunday.

Kirby, 24, is a 2019 first-round pick (20th overall) out of Elon University and is the No. 11 prospect, according to Baseball America.

In five games for the Double-A Arkansas this season, Kirby is 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA. He has struck out 32 in 24 2/3 innings.

He is essentially taking the place of Matt Brash, who was demoted to Triple-A Tacoma.

“I told him today I’m not looking for eight innings out of him tomorrow,” Servais said Saturday. “Keep us in the ballgame, even if it goes a little bit rough early on; keep filling up the strike zone and take your chances.”

Kirby has a 97 mph fastball and pinpoint control, but Servais said the right-hander will need more than just heat in his major-league debut.

“He’s got a really good fastball,” Servais said. “But the velocity in our league, it really doesn’t scare people off. You have to have the secondary weapons, and he’s really focused on that.”

–Field Level Media