Thomas expects to play this weekend after getting back injection

Lane Thomas is out of the Nationals lineup for the second straight night after receiving an injection in his back, but the outfielder expects to be back playing this weekend.

Thomas was encouraged by results of the MRI he received Tuesday, saying it did not show any injury of significance.

“Just a little inflammation in a few areas,” he said. “Got an injection. You just can’t do anything for 48 hours after that, so I should be good for Friday or maybe Saturday.”

Thomas admitted his back had been a minor issue for a while, but it flared up on him while making a throw one week ago in Toronto. He was held out of the lineup the following night but returned to play the rest of the weekend against the Marlins and wound up homering three straight days.

When the back was still bothering him after all that, Thomas was sent for Tuesday’s MRI and missed the Nationals’ series opener against the Mets.

“I felt that for so long,” he said. “I just got to that point where I made that throw in Toronto, and just did it a little more. It’s just part of the season, dealing with little nagging stuff like that.”

Thomas had actually gone 21 games without homering before his weekend power barrage. In an ironic twist, the back injury may have helped him shorten his swing and produce better contact, something he’ll now have to try to do when he comes back, even when feeling 100 percent.

“You try to protect a certain area and not use it as much, and I just felt like I used my hands a little more and maybe shortened up my swing a little bit,” he said. “I guess I’ll have to pretend like it still hurts.”

* MacKenzie Gore threw off the bullpen mound this afternoon and was cleared to start Friday against the Dodgers.

“He looked good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Threw 30 pitches, threw the ball really well. He said he felt really good. So he’ll start Friday.”

Gore just returned from bereavement leave, which resulted in the Nationals essentially skipping over one of his turns in the rotation. When he faces the Dodgers on Friday, he’ll do so on nine days’ rest.

“We’ll keep an eye on his mechanics and things like that,” Martinez said. “But his bullpen, his stuff is electric. We’ve just got to keep him under control a little bit. He gets very emotional. He pitches with a lot of intensity, which I love, but he’s got to be able to control that at times. I’m looking forward to watching him go out there and compete.”

The Nats haven’t announced their full rotation plans for the weekend. If everyone else stays on schedule, Jake Irvin and Trevor Williams would follow Gray against the Dodgers, with Josiah Gray starting Monday’s series opener at the Pirates.