ATLANTA (AP) — Travis d’Arnaud hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning and the Atlanta Braves continued their postseason push with a 2-1 victory over the playoff-bound Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.

Reynaldo López came off the injured list and pitched six strong innings for the Braves, who edged a game ahead of the New York Mets and a half-game ahead of Arizona to clinch the final two wild-card spots in the National League. The Mets lost 6-0 in Milwaukee and the Diamondbacks hosted San Diego.

D’Arnaud ended the game with a hit in the ninth, blasting a 2-0 throw from Sam Long (3-3) over the centerfield wall for his 15th home run of the season.

Raisel Iglesias (6:2) secured the victory.

López threw a pitch for the first time since September 10, when he lasted just one inning in Washington before exiting with shoulder discomfort. An MRI showed no structural damage, but the Braves placed him on the 15-day disabled list in the heat of the playoff race to ensure things didn’t get worse.

López looked as good as ever in his comeback, allowing just two singles while striking out nine. After blasting Adam Frazier with the last of his 73 pitches, he happily batted the glove as he left the mound, having lowered his ERA to just 2.00 in a stunning season.

Kansas City took the lead in the third after coming into the game with just two hits off Lopez – back-to-back singles by Freddy Fermin and Garrett Hampson. Fermin came home from third when Dairon Blanco scored a double.

The Braves tied the score in the fourth with an unearned run.

With two outs, Jorge Soler hit one from the yellow line at the top of the wall in right-center for a double. D’Arnaud followed with a dribbler that was tied up by pitcher Michael Lorenzon, who had plenty of time to catch the slow-moving catcher but threw it into the Braves dugout. Soler made the mistake clear.

The Royals entered with a makeshift lineup a day after their first postseason appearance since 2015.

Bobby Witt Jr. was among six starters from Friday’s 3-0 loss who had the night off, while three others were used at other positions. For Witt, it was the first game he missed all season after making 160 consecutive starts – 159 as a shortstop and one game as a designated hitter.

Sitting out had an added benefit for the Royals star, who likely secured the AL batting title with a .332 average with just one game left in the regular season.

Sixteen-game winner Seth Lugo pitched two scoreless innings for Kansas City, limited to 36 pitches, in what was essentially preparation for the Wild Card Series that begins Tuesday.

TRAINER ROOM

Royals: 1B Vinnie Pasquantino (broken right thumb) hopes to return to the lineup during the playoffs. He took another step in his recovery by facing live pitching for the first time since his injury. Before the game. He beat LH Will Smith, who is recovering from lower back spasms, and RH Steven Cruz, who was selected for the minors.

Braves: With López coming off the injured list, RHP John Brebbia was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett – merely a procedural move since the minor league team’s season is over.

NEXT

Neither team had announced pitching plans for Sunday’s series finale. The Braves are holding off star player Chris Sale for as long as possible and perhaps looking forward to Monday’s makeup doubleheader against the Mets. The Royals, meanwhile, scrapped plans to use LHP Cole Ragans, preferring to retain him for the Wild Card Series.