NEW YORK — Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley left Sunday night’s 4-3 loss against the New York Mets because of tightness on his left side.

Riley was replaced by Zack Short in the bottom of the fourth inning. Braves manager Brian Snitker, interviewed during the ESPN broadcast, said Riley felt a little discomfort during batting practice and again when he struck out swinging in the third.

“We’re not going to take any chances,” Snitker said.

Batting third, Riley singled with two outs in the first. He is hitting .245 with three homers and 18 RBIs this season. The Mets won the game with a walk-off homer from Brandon Nimmo in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The two-time All-Star has finished sixth or seventh in NL MVP voting each of the past three years. He batted .281 with 37 homers, 97 RBIs and an .861 OPS last season, winning his second Silver Slugger award.

Short, who began the season with the Mets, made his Braves debut after being acquired Thursday from Boston for cash. He drew a leadoff walk from Luis Severino in the sixth and scored to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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.