Austin

Riley

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.

Riley deposited a seventh inning home run off of Joe Ross 417 feet at 107.6 mph off the bat. He also added a 105.4 mph single in the ninth inning. Riley now has two home runs and five RBI on the season and is starting to heat up a bit over the last few games.

Riley smacked a one-out double off of Zack Wheeler in the second inning and rode home on Sean Murphy’s three-run blast. He then delivered the go-ahead RBI double off of Orion Kerkering in the seventh that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. With his two-hit attack, the 28-year-old third baseman is now hitting .175/.233/.325 with one homer and four RBI to begin the 2025 season.

The Braves’ terrible start has already cost Orlando Arcia his starting job at shortstop and Riley the second spot in the lineup, as the team is trying Ozzie Albies there now (he also went 0-for-4 tonight). Riley, who is hitting fifth, actually has five barrels in 21 balls in play, but they’ve mostly gone to the wrong spots, leaving him 5-for-35 with one homer and one double overall. We’d put more stock in the barrels than in the .143 average.

Riley was plunked in the hand Friday — the same hand that was fractured in August — but scans revealed no structural damage for the 27-year-old. Crisis averted.

Riley told reporters afterwards that he felt great and should be able to return to game action in the next couple days. The 27-year-old third baseman underwent a CT scan and an MRI on Friday that didn’t reveal anything serious after he was hit by a pitch on the right hand during Friday’s spring training contest. It’s an extremely encouraging sign that he’s already resumed hitting and it doesn’t appear that he’s in any danger of missing Opening Day.