Bryce Harper was the catalyst to Philadelphia’s run to the World Series last year, so when he started the season on the injured list it was a blow to the Phillies.

He returned to the lineup on May 2 — a mere 160 days after having Tommy John surgery — and has been hitting ever since. He raised his average to .361 after going 2-for-4 with a home run in Saturday night’s 7-4 win over Colorado and will try to lead Philadelphia to a road sweep of the Rockies on Sunday.

The Phillies will send Aaron Nola (3-2, 4.44 ERA) to the mound against Colorado lefty Kyle Freeland (3-4, 3.57) to wrap up the three-game weekend series.

Rockies starter Ryan Feltner left Saturday’s game after taking a line drive off the back of his head in the second inning. Colorado manager Bud Black said after the game Feltner was taken to a local hospital and is under observation.

Harper was instrumental in the first two wins of the series. In Friday night’s 6-3 win he delivered a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning and Saturday night, he walked and scored in a four-run first inning.

He has been serving as the team’s designated hitter but still plays aggressively despite having had a surgery that requires at least a year of recovery for pitchers. He doesn’t take it lightly but he has always played all-out and he said he won’t change his style.

“This might sound bad, but if it blows it blows,” Harper said, pointing to his elbow, after Friday’s win. “I’m not going to be reckless, but I don’t want to go out there and be hesitant.”

He has helped Philadelphia surge to second place in the NL East Division. Nola will try to extend the Phillies’ five-game winning streak another day when he takes the mound.

Nola has fared well in his career against the Rockies, going 4-1 with a 3.42 ERA in eight starts.

While the Phillies are climbing in the standings, Colorado is falling after winning eight of 11 games. The Rockies have dropped two in a row and considering they started the season 8-20, they can’t afford a slump of any length.

Freeland is the pitcher they need on the mound to stop a losing streak before it starts, as long as he gets run support. He lost his last start, Monday in Pittsburgh, despite giving up just two runs over seven innings.

Freeland was hurt by one pitch in the game, a two-run homer by Rodolfo Castro off a poorly located fastball in the seventh inning that accounted for all of the scoring.

Freeland said after that loss he was trying to induce a ground ball for a double play but it didn’t work.

“I was definitely trying to pitch to contact to get a two-for-one special there,” Freeland said. “I’m one of the guys who has been leading the league in double plays since I came into the league, so I’m always looking for a double-play ball.”

Freeland will be making his eighth career start against Philadelphia and fourth home outing against the reigning NL champs. In his previous seven starts he is 1-3 with a 4.20 ERA but has fared better at Coors Field.

In those three outings he is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA.

–Field Level Media

Colorado Rockies right-hander Ryan Feltner will spend the night at a Denver-area hospital after being hit by a line drive in Saturday night’s loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Rockies said Feltner is under observation and undergoing further evaluation.

“He’s undergoing a litany of exams and tests. We’ll know more in the morning,” Rockies manager Bud Black said after the game.

Feltner left the game with two outs in the second inning after taking a line drive to the head off the bat of Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos.

The line drive knocked down Feltner, who was on the ground for a while before getting up and receiving an ovation from the home crowd. He was able to walk off the field and was replaced by Peter Lambert. The ball caromed toward first base as Castellanos was safe with a single.

“There was a part of me that wanted to go to the mound, but I guess the baseball player takes over and you run to first,” Castellanos said. “As soon as I touched first, I turned around and was really hoping what just happened didn’t happen.”

Feltner was charged with the loss after giving up four runs on four hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

After recording their best comeback win of the young season, the Cleveland Guardians look to build some much-needed momentum when they face the visiting Los Angeles Angels in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday.

Josh Naylor hit a three-run homer and Andres Gimenez added a solo shot during a six-run eighth inning in Cleveland’s 8-6 comeback victory against the Angels on Saturday. Naylor has homered in two straight games for the Guardians, who are hoping to build on the dramatic win.

“I still think for us to be where we want to be, we have to play clean baseball,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. “We didn’t (Saturday), but they kept playing, and kind of an improbable win turns into a really good win for us.”

Los Angeles, which ended a 10-game losing streak at Progressive Field with a 5-4 victory in Friday’s series opener, will send left-hander Patrick Sandoval (3-1, 3.41 ERA) to the mound for the finale.

Sandoval received a no-decision after giving up four runs over 6 1/3 innings against the Houston Astros on Monday. He has allowed two or fewer earned runs in five of his seven starts this season.

Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario has one hit in eight at-bats against Sandoval, who is 1-1 with a 3.20 ERA in four career starts versus Cleveland.

Cleveland will counter with right-hander Tanner Bibee (1-1, 4.30). After pitching well in his first two major league starts, the rookie allowed four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings in a 6-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Monday.

Francona has been impressed with the 24-year-old Bibee, who has posted a 3.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first three outings covering 14 2/3 innings.

“There’s a lot to like with this kid,” Francona said after Bibee’s second career start back on May 2. “We’re going to enjoy watching to see how good he can get.”

Bibee has not yet faced the Angels.

Los Angeles received a boost on Saturday from left fielder Mickey Moniak, who was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake before the game on Friday.

A former first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies, Moniak celebrated his 25th birthday with three hits, including a leadoff homer to begin the game, three runs and two stolen bases.

“Great ballgame for him,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “Really happy for him. … He’s been working his tail off on a lot of things, and it really showed (Saturday). You can tell on his swing how it’s freed himself up.”

Nevin is monitoring the status of third baseman Anthony Rendon, who exited Saturday’s game in the sixth inning with left groin tightness.

“You’re always concerned when somebody has something wrong,” Nevin said. “When I got to the mound to make the pitching move, he just said, ‘I don’t think I can move for a ball right now this way or that way.’ So I got him out of there, hopefully ahead of time. We’ll reevaluate him (Sunday). He was going to be off (Sunday), anyway.”

The Angels’ bullpen has been surprisingly strong this season, but Ryan Tepera and Andrew Wantz combined to allow six runs on six hits during the Guardians’ comeback on Saturday.

The Angels’ top two options are still closer Carlos Estevez and Matt Moore. Estevez has converted all nine of his save opportunities, while Moore owns a 1.35 ERA in 17 relief appearances covering 20 innings.

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Blue Jays will send out left-hander Yusei Kikuchi on Sunday afternoon as they go for a three-game series sweep of the visiting Atlanta Braves.

The Blue Jays have held the Braves to two runs in winning the first two games of the series.

Kikuchi (5-0, 3.35) will be facing Atlanta for the first time in his career. The Braves will counter with right-hander Collin McHugh (1-0, 3.38). He is 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 13 career games (six starts) against Toronto.

The Braves have scored four runs during a three-game losing streak that includes a 3-0 shutout Friday in the series opener.

They could not score in the seventh inning Saturday despite loading the bases with none out. The Braves were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position to go 0-for-12 in the series.

“It’s going to happen,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You’re going to have to go through things like this. This probably won’t be the last time. There are some guys who are not hitting on all cylinders. That’s the nature of this game. You just fight through it.”

With the 5-2 loss Saturday, Atlanta has lost eight straight to Toronto dating to 2021.

“Atlanta is good and (is) going to continue to be good,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, “but I think we’re at the point now where measuring sticks are out the window. We come into a series expecting to win.”

The Blue Jays are two games into a 10-game homestand after a difficult 3-6 road trip in which they were swept by the Boston Red Sox (four games) and the Philadelphia Phillies (two games) while sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game set.

The Blue Jays are 11-3 at home.

“Other teams are saying that it’s going to be a tough series when they come in here,” Schneider said. “It’s about understanding that and getting back to what we’re good at, which is having good at-bats, getting good starting pitching and making good defensive plays.”

With McHugh opening Sunday, it will be the second bullpen game for the Braves in their past four games.

“We’ll open with Collin, see what he can give us and then go to the rest of them,” Snitker said.

This is the first time that the Braves have used McHugh as an opener, but he was used in the role seven times for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021, pitching beyond two innings once.

The Braves had a bullpen game Wednesday against the Red Sox. They started left-hander Dylan Lee, who recorded eight outs in a 5-2 loss.

Marcell Ozuna provided Atlanta’s scoring Saturday with a two-run home run. It was his seventh homer and his fifth over his past seven games, a span in which he is hitting .308 (8-for-26) with 10 RBs.

Bo Bichette had two RBI singles for the Blue Jays with the second hit giving Toronto a 3-2 lead in the seventh.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was 1-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly for Toronto. He has reached base in each of his past 18 games. During that span he is batting .286 (20-for-70) with four homers, 12 RBIs and a .948 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

–Field Level Media