ATLANTA -- Braves manager Brian Snitker allowed Dansby Swanson to play through left quad discomfort that developed during his two-homer game in Thursday night’s 12-6 win over the Phillies at SunTrust Park.

But Snitker decided it would be best to keep Swanson out of the lineup for the first two games of this weekend’s series against the Marlins before permitting him to start Sunday’s finale.

If there was any real concern about the ailment, the Braves would likely be planning to rest Swanson through the end of the four-day All-Star break, which begins Monday.

“He could play if he had to,” Snitker said. “It’s just one of those things you don’t want to get any worse. I told him after last night’s game I just wanted to stay ahead of it.”

Swanson didn’t show any obvious signs of discomfort as he tallied a career-best five RBIs and enjoyed his second multi-homer game of the season. The 25-year-old shortstop has hit 17 homers through 336 at-bats (19.8 AB/HR) in 2019. He entered the year with 23 homers in 1,095 career at-bats (47.6 AB/HR).

Good health has certainly aided Swanson, who spent most of last year dealing with a left wrist injury that required offseason surgery. But so too has improved plate discipline. He swung at 36.5 percent of the pitches thrown outside the zone in 2018, compared to just 26.6 percent of these pitches in '19.

Swanson ranks fourth among National League shortstops in Weighted Runs Created Plus (112) and OPS (.834). He produced 80 WRC+ and a .699 OPS during the 2018 season.

Sliding right back in

After optioning Bryse Wilson back to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday, Snitker revealed the talented rookie would return to start the Braves’ fifth game after the All-Star break.

Because Wilson threw six innings against the Phillies on Wednesday, he was going to be unavailable until after the Midsummer Classic. So the Braves opted to take advantage of the chance to add another reliever (Grant Dayton) for a few days. The move also gives Wilson a chance to avoid a long layoff.

Wilson will start for Gwinnett on Thursday and then rejoin Atlanta’s rotation on July 16 in Milwaukee. When the 21-year-old right-hander returns, he’ll be looking to once again rely on the “harder” slider he introduced while holding the Phillies scoreless until a pair of runs in his sixth and final inning.

Wilson’s slider (12 pitches) averaged 85.9 mph and touched 88.8 mph. He threw the pitch 11 times just six days earlier at Wrigley Field, averaging 80.3 mph.

“The breaking ball was a significant improvement from the last start,” Snitker said. “I was really encouraged with that. I was really impressed with the kid. That stuff is real.”

Wilson’s primary weapon remains his four-seam fastball, which induced nine swings and misses and 10 called strikes as he threw it 58 times on Wednesday. His four-seamer averaged 95.8 mph against the Cubs last week and 95.1 mph during his latest outing against the Phillies. This has certainly been encouraging to see given this pitch averaged 92.6 mph when he came out of Spring Training with a dead arm and started on March 30 in Philadelphia.