Inciarte will play Thursday

Outfielder’s return pushed back after playing in WBC.

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — As eager as he was to see Ender Inciarte back at the top of the Braves’ lineup, manager Brian Snitker agreed it made more sense to push back his return to Thursday.

Inciarte, who was away for the World Baseball Classic and hasn’t played a game for the Braves since March 4, was scheduled to make his return Tuesday against the Washington Nationals at the new Park of the Palm Beaches. But the decision was made Tuesday morning to have the center fielder stay at Braves camp and work with others who didn’t make the three-hour bus ride to West Palm Beach.

Inciarte and Braves bench coach Eddie Perez, who was on the Venezuela coaching staff, flew back from San Diego late Sunday night after Venezuela was eliminated in the WBC second round. Inciarte was 7 for 24 (.292) with three doubles and three RBIs in seven games for Venezuela.

“Just give (Inciarte) a day to kind of recuperate,” Snitker said. “I think the travel and everything. ... I was going to take him today and he was like, ‘I’ll go and play, but I think I’d be better served just to kind of get himself back (to normal).’ He was exhausted when he came in today, just from the travel and everything. And flying back he was sitting (scrunched in a middle seat) next to some big guy. ...

“They got in (late Sunday). I texted him yesterday and he was like, ‘I’ve been sleeping all day. Just wore out.’ Eddie said they didn’t have any days off, travel was terrible. ... It’ll be good to let him get a good workout in today and let his body kind of get back, take tomorrow off and then be good to go.”

The Braves are off today, then play seven consecutive games before breaking camp March 29 and returning to Atlanta for a March 31 exhibition game against the Yankees to open SunTrust Park. They open the season at New York against the Mets on April 3.

Albies takes shot off knee: Second-base prospect Ozzie Albies gave Braves radio listeners and fans in attendance a brief scare when he crumpled to the ground after fouling a ball off his right knee in the seventh inning Tuesday.

He left the game after the incident, but Snitker said the injury wasn’t serious, and he thought Albies could be ready to play Thursday.

“He just fouled it off his knee — that really hurts, just stings you so much that it’s unstable,” Snitker said. “Better to get some ice on it. Probably be sore tomorrow, but I would think in another day he should be good.”

Albies entered as a defensive substitute in the bottom of the sixth inning and was batting with a 3-1 count when he fouled a pitch off his knee and fell to the ground in obvious pain. He stayed down more than a minute while being attended to by a trainer with Snitker standing nearby. Then Albies got up and said he could continue.

Albies took several steps, shook his leg, then was unsteady as he got back in the batter’s box.

“TP (bench coach Terry Pendleton) started yelling at me when I walked away, said (Albies) got up and ‘bout buckled his knee,” said Snitker, who replaced Albies at that point. “I said, that’s enough. It’s like a funny bone when you get hit on the knee like that, but I think he’ll ice that thing, and we’ve got the day off tomorrow, he should be good to go the next day.”

Albies, 20, is the top position-player prospect in the Braves organization after rookie shortstop Dansby Swanson, and one of the top 25 prospects in baseball, according to some evaluators.

Roe’s rough day: When Chaz Roe gave up two runs in the seventh inning of a previously tied game against the Nationals on Tuesday, the Braves were on their way to an eighth consecutive Grapefruit League loss.

Snitker is in only his second season as manager and first as the full-time manager, but he’s been in the Braves organization for four decades and spent enough time on legendary manager Bobby Cox’s coaching staffs to know how unimportant spring-training scores are.

Instead of dwelling on another rough outing for Roe (14.29 ERA) — Snitker noted in the regular season, the right-hander likely wouldn’t have faced the lefty hitters who hurt him Tuesday — Snitker focused on the latest strong performance from starter Mike Foltynewicz and the work of the other three relievers who pitched Tuesday: lefthanders Eric O’Flaherty, having a resurgent-type spring, and recent waiver claim Kevin Chapman and right-hander Blaine Boyer.

Then Snitker looked forward to having at least a somewhat relaxing day today when the Braves are off.

For the rest of spring training, Snitker expects to use his lineup regulars together a lot more than he has so far this spring. Between long bus rides that he allowed veterans to skip, and the absences of Freddie Freeman for 1½ weeks and Inciarte for 2½ weeks to play in the World Baseball Classic, the Braves have rarely played more than a handful of their lineup regulars together this spring.