New York Mets left fielder Brandon Nimmo sat out Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Braves because of soreness on his right side, but he said it was realistic that he’ll return to the lineup on Monday.

Nimmo exited Saturday’s game after the fourth inning with right intercostal irritation. He felt discomfort when he held up on a swing in the second and was checked by manager Carlos Mendoza and an athletic trainer.

Nimmo, who is hitting .228 with five home runs and a team-high 25 RBI, said core testing went well and he wanted to see if he could play Sunday night, but Mendoza nixed that idea this early in the season. Nimmo said he won’t have an MRI unless problems arise when he tries swinging, which he planned to do Sunday evening.

“Everything looks good right now,” Nimmo said. “… It’s a little like, sore. So it’s like as if you worked out on it or something like that maybe a little too much. But other than that, it’s pretty good.”

The Mets start a series vs. the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.

DJ Stewart replaced Nimmo in left field and the leadoff spot Sunday.

“I’m pretty optimistic that we caught it early,” Mendoza said. “We were able to treat it last night, and he’s feeling good today.”

In other injury news, it’s unclear when No. 1 starter Kodai Senga will throw live batting practice again or begin a minor league rehab assignment during his recovery from a right shoulder capsule strain.

Senga faced hitters twice in the past two weeks, but he’s back to just throwing bullpens probably for the next week or so, Mendoza said.

“We don’t want to put him at risk,” Mendoza said. “He’s very meticulous about his craft.”

Elsewhere, right-hander Tylor Megill (shoulder strain) pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings for Triple-A Syracuse, allowing seven hits with six strikeouts and no walks. He is expected to be reinstated from his rehab assignment this week, and the Mets must decide whether to bring him back to the big leagues or option him to Syracuse.

Right-handed reliever Drew Smith (shoulder soreness) could come off the injured list Monday or Tuesday, and left-hander David Peterson (left hip surgery) is scheduled to make another rehab start Tuesday at Double-A Binghamton and could be ready to come off the IL when eligible on May 27.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Brad Keselowski moved to the front when leaders Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick hit while battling for first with nine laps left and held on to capture the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday for his first NASCAR win in three years.

It was Keselowski’s 36th career victory, his second at Darlington and his first since reconnecting with magnate Jack Roush and becoming a co-owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

“Hell of an effort by everyone,” Keselowski said after crossing the finish line.

It appeared Keselowski’s employee at RFK, Buescher, would get the win after he passed his boss and Reddick with 29 laps to go. But Buescher and Reddick then hit and fell back, opening the door for Keselowski’s satisfying victory.

“What a heck of a day,” he said. “That battle out there with my teammate and Tyler Reddick, we just laid it all on the line.”

Ty Gibbs was second, Josh Berry third and Denny Hamlin fourth. Chase Briscoe was fifth followed by William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Justin Haley and Michael McDowell.

It was another near miss for Buescher, who lost by 0.001 seconds to Kyle Larson at Kansas in the closest finish in NASCAR history.

Buescher slid to 30th and Reddick 32nd at Darlington.

Buescher confronted Reddick when both got out of their cars. Reddick took full blame for the incident.

Larson was in the top 10 when he spun out with 40 laps left and could not return.

Meanwhile, one slipup ended the chances of two NASCAR champions. Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and Byron were three-wide on Lap 128 when Byron tagged Truex, who pushed into Blaney and sent him against the wall in Turn 2.

The crew for Blaney, the defending Cup Series champion, could not repair the damage, and his day was done. He rode up alongside Byron to signal his displeasure with Byron’s move.

“He used a little bit more racetrack than I thought, so I have every right to be mad, and he gets away scot-free,” said Blaney, who wound up last in 36th place.

Truex, the 2017 series champion, dropped from the top 10 and finished 25th.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Chris Buescher let his frustrations out over a second close call that cost him a NASCAR victory for a second straight week.

Buescher had lost out by 0.001 of a second at Kansas to Kyle Larson a week ago in what was the closest ending in NASCAR history. This time, Buescher lost his chance at the Goodyear 400 when Tyler Reddick tried to pass for the lead.

Reddick’s car slid up into Buescher, knocking him against the wall and ruining both their chances for a Darlington victory.

Buescher angrily confronted Reddick when both were out of their cars. Buescher shoved him and shouted that he should not have tried that move.

“I tried to back out,” Reddick said. “The last thing I wanted to do was wreck your car. I’m sorry.”

Buescher pointed to the NASCAR playoff decal on his car for those, like Reddick, who’ve qualified for the postseason.

“That doesn’t work for me,” Buescher said. “We don’t have that sticker on my door right now. I need you to be better. We’ve raced each other for so long just fine.”

Buescher had said how agonizing his loss to Kyle Larson at Kansas last week was, replaying it and coming up with several things he might have done differently given another chance. At Darlington, Buescher knew who to blame.

“That’s two weeks in a row we had a shot to win races,” Buescher said. “One, I’m going to relive in my head forever at what I would’ve done different [at Kansas]. The other, I need someone else to be more mature about it.”

Reddick continued apologizing in his post-race comments.

He said his attempted pass was aggressive and he tried to check up so he would not slide into Buescher.

“It’s tough to walk away knowing that I used someone up, took their chance away from winning the race that’s racing me really cleanly,” Reddick said. “I have to work on that and try and make some better decisions.”