NEW YORK -- A day after being hit by a pitch on the right hand and exiting Friday's 5-4 loss to the Mets with a hand contusion, Bryce Harper was out of the lineup for the Phillies on Saturday against the Mets. Harper left the game in part due to an inability to grip the bat, he said after the game, and his X-rays were negative.

“We did a couple tests, things like that, and there was just no point of gripping the bat because I couldn’t really do those certain tests,” Harper said before Saturday’s game, noting that gripping the bat was still an issue.

Harper came in sore on Saturday but both manager Gabe Kapler and Harper did not express any additional concern.

“I’ll be fine, I’ll be OK,” Harper said.

Kapler said that the results of the tests pointed toward keeping Harper out of Saturday’s lineup.

“After talking to our medical team, we determined that the best thing to do was give him the day off as a precautionary measure. He’s certainly still a bit sore,” Kapler said.

This injury for Harper comes as the Phillies are in the midst of a postseason push. They entered Saturday four games behind the Cubs for the second NL Wild Card spot -- on a day that the Cubs got some negative injury news on Javier Baez, who has a hairline thumb fracture and does not yet have a timetable for his return.

“It sucks. You never want to get hit or anything like that, at any period in the season, and especially now,” Harper said. “We’re in a place where we’ve got to win games, we’ve gotta play games, so [it’s] tough to take the day.

“We’ve got a chance, we just gotta keep playing, keep trying to win games. That’s all you can do. Not really look around the league or look at any other teams winning or losing. We’ve got to take care of business ourselves and just gotta keep winning.”

Saturday is league-wide Childhood Cancer Awareness Day

For the fourth straight year, all Major League teams wore gold wristbands and decals to raise awareness for childhood cancer on Saturday. As they are on the road Saturday, the Phillies will take additional steps to raise awareness during their upcoming homestand.

On Saturday, Sept. 14, the club will host its annual Nemours Childhood Cancer Awareness Night. This will include a pregame ceremony during which families affected by childhood cancer and nurses who have worked with them will hold yellow ribbons in center field. Children currently battling cancer will stand next to players during a Lineup of Courage. The national anthem and Take Me Out to the Ballgame will be performed by childhood cancer survivors.

The night also features a special theme-night ticket offer, and a portion of money from those special-event tickets will be donated to benefit childhood cancer research at Nemours Foundation.