WASHINGTON -- Gavin Floyd had never heard the name of the piece of bone he broke inside his elbow. Pau Gasol Jersey . Manager Fredi Gonzalez didnt even try to pronounce it. But no matter how you say "olecranon," it spells more bad news for the Atlanta Braves pitching staff. Floyd, recently recovered from elbow ligament replacement surgery, fractured the bony tip of the forearm bone that sticks out behind the elbow when he threw a curveball to lead off the seventh inning of Thursday nights 3-0 win over the Washington Nationals. "It was fine until that last pitch," Floyd said. "I felt a pop." Its the latest setback for an injury-riddled staff that lost starters Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy and reliever Cory Gearrin to Tommy John surgery during spring training, upending a major plank in the Braves plans to repeat as NL East champions. "Its been a tough one, ever since spring training," third baseman Chris Johnson said. "But weve got to keep moving forward. Hopefully its nothing too bad and we can get him back soon." Floyd will return to Atlanta on Friday to be examined by team doctors. The injury is so rare that the Braves couldnt provide even a guess of a timetable for his return. A similar injury ended the career of Detroit Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya in 2010. "In the big picture, I think hes going to be OK," Gonzalez said. Floyd flexed his pitching arm awkwardly after the fateful pitch, which turned into a long foul ball by Jayson Werth down the left field line. After an examination by the Braves trainer on the mound, Floyd left the game for reliever Anthony Varvaro. "It was a weird spot," Floyd said. "It was a little sore before, but not in the area that I had surgery." Floyd (2-2) was making his ninth start since recovering from Tommy John surgery, but Gonzalez said the two injuries are not related. "What a shame," Gonzalez said. "The guy comes all the way back from Tommy John. ... I feel for the young man." Floyd had been working on a two-hit shutout. He threw only 64 pitches, walking one and striking out six to drop his ERA to 2.65 in his first season with Atlanta. "Thats the best Ive seen him look," Johnson said. "For those first six innings, he was dealing, he was nasty, so thats really a tough break." Floyds career record is 72-72 over 11 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox and Braves. "I felt like I was getting better and better, so its definitely disappointing," Floyd said. "Definitely not what I envisioned to happen. I havent had any pain since the surgery." The win moved the Braves within a half-game of the first-place Nationals atop the NL East as the division rivals opened a four-game series. Atlanta had been trending downward recently, losing eight of 12 entering the series. Johnson drove in all three of the Braves runs, two on a bases-loaded single in the fourth and another on a line drive that smacked reliever Jerry Blevins left knee in the eighth. Blevins was examined by the Nationals trainer but remained in the game to face one more batter. Jordan Zimmermann (5-4), coming off consecutive complete games, had his second straight hard-luck start for the Nationals. He lost 1-0 to Lance Lynn and the St. Louis Cardinals last Friday, and this time he allowed only two runs and seven hits through seven innings. Zimmermann has also had Tommy John surgery and naturally empathized with Floyd. "You never want another pitcher to get injured. I dont know what really happened," Zimmermann said. "Obviously, it was bad enough for him to come out of the game. Hopefully, hell be all right." NOTES: Evan Gattis extended his hitting streak to 18 games -- the longest active streak in the majors and best ever by a Braves catcher. ... Craig Kimbrel picked up his 21st save for the Braves, who have won 23 of 30 against the Nationals. ... Nationals OF Bryce Harper took on-field batting practice before the game for the first time since undergoing thumb surgery last month. Hes expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment next week before re-joining the team in mid-July. . Nationals Manager Matt Williams said C Wilson Ramos (strained right hamstring) should be ready to re-join the team when eligible to come off of the DL June 26. Ramos will begin a rehab assignment over the weekend or the beginning of next week. . Braves OF Justin Upton was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game with an inner ear ailment causing dizziness, but he appeared as pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and grounded out. . The Braves placed RHP Pedro Beato on the DL with a sore right elbow. He was called up to the Braves earlier this week and pitched in relief both Tuesday and Wednesday. The Braves promoted RHP Juan Jaime from Triple-A Gwinnett, his first call-up to the majors. Tyus Jones Jersey . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Mike Miller Jersey . Today, he looks at the offensive line. 1. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (OT, McGill) You Should Know: Over the course of his university career, Duvernay-Tardifs commitments to medical school and the family business frequently limited him to one practice per week, yet he was still the Metras Trophy winner as the Top Lineman in CIS football in 2013.Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Al Horford had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 91-85 on Saturday night to extend their franchise-record winning streak to 19 games. The NBA-leading Hawks wrapped up a perfect 17-0 January, but it came harder than expected. They had to battle to stay ahead down the stretch despite leading by 21 points in the second quarter and 15 in the third. Michael Carter-Williams, Luc Mbah a Moute and Jerami Grant scored 13 points apiece for the Sixers, who were attempting to win three consecutive games for the first time this season. They made a season-high 14 3-pointers on 35 tries. Hollis Thompson and Carter-Williams buried 3s to cut into Atlantas 15-point lead in the third quarter and the Sixers knocked it down to five going into the fourth. They took a two-point lead on Nerlens Noels dunk with under three minutes remaining, but Horford tied it at the other end and Dennis Schroder knocked down a straightaway 3-pointer to give the Hawks the lead for good with 1:35 left. They came all the way back but coach said just to play our game, said Schroder. Just keep playing with pace and thats what we did and we won the game. Schroder and Paul Millsap scored 15 points apiecee for the Hawks, who found out Saturday that forward Thabo Sefolosha will miss up to eight weeks with a right calf strain. Solomon Hill Jersey. Sefolosha was hurt in the opening minutes of Fridays win over Portland after starting in place of DeMarre Carroll, who is out with a left Achilles strain. We jumped into the physical side of the game in the second half, said Sixers coach Brett Brown. In the first half I thought we got jumped. We got caught off-guard. The Hawks matched San Antonios 19-game winning streak from last season, but its far from an NBA record. Miami had a 27-game streak two years ago and the Los Angeles Lakers set the league record with 33 consecutive victories during the 1971-72 season, with the last victory coming against Atlanta. Game Notes Thompson scored 12 points for the Sixers and Noel had 11 with 10 rebounds ... Atlanta has won the last seven meetings with Philadelphia ... Kyle Korver scored 14 points for Atlanta ... The Hawks beat the Sixers Dec. 10 at home and Jan. 13 in Philadelphia, winning by an average of 17 points. The teams will meet again in Philly on March 7 ... Atlanta takes its winning streak to New Orleans on Monday ... The Sixers remain on the road to play Cleveland on Monday. ' ' '