Anthony Rizzo exits in the 5th inning of the Chicago Cubs’ 6-3 win over the Washington Nationals because of lower back tightness

The Chicago Cubs moved back over .500 with a 6-3 victory against the Washington Nationals, boosted by a pair of home runs.

David Bote’s two-run homer in the sixth broke a tie, and Ian Happ added to the lead in the eighth with a solo homer into the left-center-field basket. An injury concern popped up during the game, however. First baseman Anthony Rizzo exited in the fifth inning because of lower back tightness.

The Cubs announced Rizzo’s departure was precautionary. Given Rizzo’s history of back problems, it was a smart decision by manager David Ross not to let him stay in the game and potentially create a bigger issue.

Rizzo was seen stretching at his position as right-hander Zach Davies completed his warm-up pitches at the start of the fourth. The stretches seemingly prompted Ross and a team trainer to check on Rizzo. He remained in the game after a brief conversation, but on the next ball in play, his awkward maneuvering to make the play resulted in an error.

Rizzo did not come out for the fifth. Kris Bryant shifted to first base, and Jason Heyward entered off the bench to play right field.

The Cubs have worked their way to a winning record with a strong collective performance this month after the offense’s April struggles. Rizzo has been a big part of that equation. He came into Tuesday’s game hitting .298 with a .414 on-base percentage and .903 OPS in May.

Davies gave up three runs in five innings. His night ended after Starlin Castro’s game-tying homer to lead off the sixth and a single from Josh Harrison.

Ross called on rookie right-hander Keegan Thompson to get out of the inning without further damage. Thompson succeeded, striking out two of the three Nationals he faced. Thompson got to hit for himself in the bottom of the sixth, collecting his first major-league hit on a first-pitch single to center.