Austin

Riley

It’s the first start of the series for Smith, who has appeared as a pinch-hitter and struck out in each of the first two games. Mike Yastrzemski will also return to the starting lineup for Game 3 after sitting in Game 2. Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim will open the game on the bench for the Braves. Here’s the full lineup that the Braves will deploy in a must-win game against Phillies’ right-hander Aaron Nola: Drake Baldwin (C), Ronald Acuña Jr. (RF), Matt Olson (1B), Michael Harris II (CF), Mauricio Dubon (SS), Mike Yastrzemski (LF) Austin Riley (3B), Ozzie Albies (2B) and Dominic Smith (DH)

With two runners on and two outs, Riley launched an opposite-field homer off Jhoan Duran to give Atlanta the lead and the victory. The 29-year-old was awful in the regular season and hasn’t been an elite hitter for the past few years, but he now has his team one game away from advancing to the NLDS against the Dodgers. The Phillies and Atlanta will play again Wednesday with Cristopher Sanchez squaring off against Tyler Mahle.

Riley’s home run was his 19th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Brady Singer in the third inning. Riley is closing out his worst season in the majors by OPS (.665). The 29-year-old third basemen hit 19 home runs in 46 fewer games only two years ago. From 2021-23, Riley finished in the top 10 in the NL MVP voting all three years. Since then, he’s had three disappointing campaigns in a row and belief in a bounce back is dwindling.

Riley is back at third base and hitting seventh after sitting out Sunday’s series finale against the Astros with a tooth issue. The 29-year-old power-hitter is batting just .220/.292/.360 with 62 runs scored, 17 homers, 69 RBI and nine steals across 606 plate appearances this season. Simply put, he’s been one of the more notable fantasy disappointments at the hot corner.

Riley has been limping to the finish line of the regular season, slashing just .203/.266/.339 with two homers, eight RBI and a 22/4 K/BB ratio over 64 plate appearances since the calendar flipped to September. Hopefully a day off to reset is what he needs to get back on track. Mauricio Dubon will cover third base in his absence and will bat fifth for the Braves on Sunday.

The Braves managed five straight hits against the Rays bullpen in a 0-0 game in the eighth to take a 3-0 lead. Riley’s single scored the first run, and he himself scored on a single by Ha-Seong Kim after Mike Yastrzemski got him to third base on a ground-rule double. It was Riley’s only hit of the game, and he remains mired in a deep slump, hitting .228/.275/.347 over his last 30 games with two homers and two stolen bases.

Riley strolled to the dish against Phillies’ closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth inning with the go-ahead run standing on third base with only one out. He wasted no time, ripping a first-pitch splitter up the gap in right-center to plate the go-ahead run, which proved to be the difference. Riley finished the afternoon 1-for-4 and is now slashing .224/.294/.368 with 16 homers, 66 RBI and nine stolen bases on the season.

Riley drove in two with a base hit in the eighth, extending Atlanta’s lead to 8-0. He’s been better in the second half than he was before the All-Star break, but by wRC+ it’s still been nothing more than league-average production. The Braves continue to start him every day, though he hasn’t hit higher than seventh in the order since July 24.

The Braves have him batting eighth, but Riley is hitting .290/.318/.532 this month. Unfortunately, he’s also still striking out a ton; today’s game was his fifth in row with two strikeouts.

Riley looked like his old self in this game. He demolished his home run at 108.5 mph off the bat and hammered it an estimated 438 feet. In total, he had four hard-hit balls and nearly hit for the cycle, but Luis Robert Jr. made a nice play in the right center field gap on him in the eighth inning. If that would’ve gotten down, Riley could’ve gotten three out of it. Nevertheless, another miserable season has forced the Braves to drop Riley to eighth in their lineup, but he has an .806 OPS and six home runs over his last 30 games.