ATLANTA -- Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte's bid for a 200-hit season was delayed when he aggravated his left thumb during the fourth inning of Tuesday night's 4-2 loss to the Nationals at SunTrust Park.
"He's been playing through it," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "I think he just got to a point where we're going to have to back off a little bit. There's no structural damage or anything. He's just sore."
Inciarte's exit from Tuesday's game came after he grounded out against Max Scherzer's inside fastball in the fourth inning. The jam shot aggravated the thumb discomfort he has felt since while completing a head-first slide toward first base during a Sept. 12 game at Nationals Park.
After missing one game last week, Inciarte had started each of the past five games. But the Braves will likely let him rest on Wednesday and possibly again on Thursday.
Standing just 10 hits shy of recording the seventh 200-hit season in Braves history, Inciarte will certainly want to return to action as soon as possible.
"Knowing him, he'll be wanting to play tomorrow, but we'll probably give him a day just to calm things down again," Snitker said.