ATLANTA -- 447 days since appearing in a Major League game, Tanner Rainey came full circle in his return from Tommy John surgery on Saturday night.

The late-inning righty reliever made his comeback on the same mound where he last pitched on July 10, 2022: at Truist Park. Rainey delivered a scoreless eighth inning with one hit, one walk and one strikeout on 18 pitches in the Nationals¡¯ 5-3 loss to the Braves.

¡°The only thing I can say is, it made the 14 months worth it,¡± Rainey said.

Manager Dave Martinez turned to Rainey to pitch into the top of the Braves¡¯ heavy-hitting lineup. Rainey¡¯s first pitch back: a slider called by catcher Keibert Ruiz to Eddie Rosario. Atlanta¡¯s No. 8 hitter made contact for a soft ground ball single to third base, and he reached second on a throwing error by Carter Kieboom.

¡°Keibert surprised me when he called it,¡± Rainey said. ¡°But when I was warming up, the slider felt really good. When he called it, I was like, ¡®Yeah, let¡¯s do it.¡¯ I got exactly what I wanted out of it, it¡¯s just unfortunate where he hit it. It¡¯s a tough play.¡±

Working with a runner in scoring position, Rainey caught Orlando Arcia swinging on a slider in a 1-2 count. He issued a walk to Ronald Acu?a Jr. on six pitches, followed by a popup to second base from Ozzie Albies on a 95.5 mph fastball.

Rainey delivered a wild pitch that advanced Rosario and Acu?a to second and third, but he escaped the jam by getting Austin Riley to fly out to right field on a 96.5 mph fastball.

¡°It was a good part of the lineup for him, and he did really well,¡± said Martinez. ¡°He¡¯s an adrenaline guy. He¡¯s going to come in, his [velocity¡¯s] going to be up in the mid-90s, and his slider was really effective. I¡¯m proud of him.¡±

Rainey located 11 of his 18 pitches for strikes. He delivered his four-seam fastball, which reached 96.8 mph, for 10 pitches and his slider for the other eight. Rainey credited the uptick in his velocity from his rehab outings to ¡°the adrenaline, the lights, the stadium, the fans -- that makes a big difference.¡±

¡°I¡¯m so happy for him,¡± said Ruiz. ¡°He looked great. The fastball was good, the slider was there, too. ¡­ He¡¯s going to help us win some games.¡±

On that July afternoon last year in Atlanta, Rainey threw two scoreless innings. Just three days later, he was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right UCL sprain, and he underwent Tommy John surgery that August. Rainey, who had earned the role of Nats closer, had picked up 12 saves with a 3.30 ERA in 29 appearances before his fifth Major League season was cut short.

Rainey, 30, set a goal to return this year. He described the coincidence of being reinstated from the 60-day injured list on Friday to make his return in Atlanta as ¡°a little weird,¡± but there was nothing coincidental about his comeback.

Rainey had grinded through the recovery process at the Nationals¡¯ training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., before being cleared to pitch in rehab assignments in August, the one-year mark since his surgery. He worked his way up through the Rookie-level Florida Complex League, Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A before rejoining the Nats at Nationals Park this month to throw bullpen sessions and sim games monitored by the staff. Rainey said, ¡°the last two or three weeks, I think I made big strides¡± through these activities.

To clear roster space, the Nats transferred catcher Riley Adams (broken left hamate bone) to the 60-day IL and placed right-hander Robert Garcia on the paternity list on Friday.

¡°I want to see Tanner in the big leagues,¡± general manager Mike Rizzo said before the game Saturday. ¡°I want to see how he reacts and how he performs. Not so much that he has anything to prove, because we kind of know the pitcher that he is, but I think it's important for him and for us to see him pitch and for him to do it before the season's over.¡±

Rainey experienced some nerves initially, but he settled in once he warmed up in the bullpen. When the phone rang in the ¡®pen, the only thing on his mind was, ¡°get out there, throw, be healthy.¡±

And so Rainey did. Fourteen months later, all 447 days worth waiting for.

¡°I¡¯m kind of at a loss for words here,¡± he said.