Austin

Riley

This comes a day after the team admitted that Ozuna been playing with a tear in his hip. It’s certainly not performance related, as he’s hitting .362/.483/.617 in his last 13 games. Still, the Braves might be figuring getting a couple fewer at-bats each week will save a little wear.

Riley opened the scoring in Thursday’s contest with a two-run double off of Zack Wheeler in the fourth inning, then he rode home on a two-run blast off the bat of Ozzie Albies. Riley also walked in the sixth inning and scored on a two-run single by Luke Williams. He then tagged Joe Ross for a 409-foot (111.0 mph EV) two-run shot in the seventh inning that made it an 8-0 ballgame. With the two-hit attack, he’s now hitting .280/.336/.444 with nine homers and 32 RBI on the season.

Riley continues to bat second behind top-of-the-order spark plug Ronald Acuña Jr. when veteran Sean Murphy is behind the plate, which is the case on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. He’s been dropped to the middle of the order whenever red-hot rookie backstop Drake Baldwin is handling the catching duties.

This certainly qualifies as a shakeup. Baldwin has been on fire in recent weeks, hitting .442 (19-for-43) with three homers over his last 15 games, and Atlanta is going to give him a shot hitting behind top-of-the-order igniter Ronald Acuña Jr. and move Austin Riley, who is hitting .233 (14-for-60) with zero homers over his last 15 games, down to the fifth spot in the order. We’ll see if it’s a temporary move or more of a permanent decision in the coming days.

Riley is now hitting .287/.335/.451 on the season with 28 RBI. The power is still not yet at the level we’re used to seeing, but he’s making good contact, and you have to think the ball will start flying in the summer months.

The 28-year-old slugger opened the scoring in the ballgame with a 426-foot (108.5 mph EV) two-run shot off of Dustin May in the home half of the first inning. He then repeated the exercise in the third inning with a 416-foot (108.0 mph EV) two-run bomb that increased the Braves’ lead to 4-0. That would be all of the support that Bryce Elder and company would require. Riley finished the night 2-for-4 and is now hitting .292/.336/.511 with eight long balls and 24 RBI on the young season.

The Braves got to Zac Gallen early in this one and later broke the game open against the Diamondbacks’ bullpen. Riley was in the middle of that rally against Gallen with a run-scoring single and then put a bow on their three-run eighth with another run-scoring single. He’s now riding a six-game hit streak over which he’s raised his batting average from .265 to .304. He remains a stalwart at third base who’s on track to put up All-Star caliber production.

Riley tied the game at 2-2 with a lengthy homer off an otherwise-effective Erick Fedde in the third inning. It’s already the sixth homer of the season for Riley, and a pair of hits along with a walk boost his slash to .278/.316/.522. Often times early lines don’t seem sustainable. This one does.

Riley tagged Blue Jays’ right-hander Kevin Gausman for a 375-foot (103.9 mph EV) solo shot after an 11-pitch battle in the opening inning. He also singled in the third inning. With his two-hit attack, the 28-year-old slugger is now slashing a healthy .300/.338/.571 to go along with five long balls and 12 RBI on the season.

Riley took Blue Jays lefty starter Easton Lucas deep in the third and fifth innings, respectively, for his seventh career multi-homer performance. The 28-year-old power-hitting third baseman hasn’t exactly gotten off to a torrid start, but he’s batting a robust .288 (19-for-66) with four homers and 11 RBI through 16 games. He eclipsed the 30-homer mark in three consecutive seasons prior to last year’s injury-marred campaign and seems like a strong bet to get back there, if he can avoid the injured list.