ATLANTA — Travis d’Arnaud hit a home run in the ninth inning and the Atlanta Braves kept up their postseason push with a 2-1 win over the playoff-bound Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.Reynaldo López came off the injured list to throw six strong innings for the Braves, who moved one game ahead of the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks in the race for the final two NL wild-card spots.The Mets lost 6-0 at Milwaukee, while the Diamondbacks were blanked 5-0 by San Diego.D’Arnaud ended it with one swing in the ninth, launching a 2-0 pitch from Sam Long (3-3) over the center-field wall for his 15th homer this season.After an injury-plagued season, the Braves’ magic number is one. They can clinch their seventh straight playoff appearance on Sunday by completing a sweep of the Royals or another loss by the Diamondbacks.Atlanta also has a makeup doubleheader set for Monday against the Mets after two games were washed out by Hurricane Helene in the final week of the regular season, but it may not matter much for the Braves.“This is big here. This is playoff baseball, literally,” manager Brian Snitker said. “A lot of emotions. That’s why you play this thing, to get in these positions.”Raisel Iglesias (6-2) earned the win with a perfect top half of the ninth, but the story on the mound was López.The All-Star right-hander pitched for the first time since Sept. 10, when he lasted only one inning at Washington before coming out 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 make sure things didn’t get worse.López looked as good as ever in his return, allowing only two singles while striking out nine. After fanning Adam Frazier with the last of his 73 pitches, he pounded his glove i …
