The third baseman is punishing baseballs once again just as Atlanta enters a critical stretch of the season.
Austin Riley has spent much of the season trying to find the version of himself that once made him one of the most important hitters in the Atlanta Braves’ lineup. Thursday in Chicago, he looked a little closer.
Riley doubled and singled to drive in both of Atlanta’s runs during a 2-0 win over the White Sox, but the bigger development was how he handled his first at-bat to open the scoring in the third. Facing a pitcher he had seen just once before in Anthony Kay, Riley said he was simply trying to stay toward the middle of the field and adjust his sights enough to stay with a slider.
The result was a ball that found the line and put Atlanta in front.
That kind of adjustment has become increasingly important for Riley as he tries to build something sustainable out of what has been his best stretch of the season.
Since the All-Star break, Riley has hit six home runs after hitting nine in the first half. He entered Friday hitting .290/.318/.532 in August with nine extra-base hits, while his average exit velocity since the break had climbed to 95.3 mph. His 61.2 percent hard-hit rate during that span led all qualified hitters.
The numbers suggest the ball is being struck differently. Riley's explanation suggests the work behind it is changing, too.
Earlier this season, Riley had become too twisted in his setup, according to The Athletic's Jesus Cano, causing pitches away to appear closer than they actually were and leading him into more chases. Hitting coach Tim Hyers said Riley was also getting underneath pitches he normally would have driven and had allowed his swing to lengthen.
The adjustment has been about getting Riley back into a more controlled position.
“His swing has been a lot more direct and compact,” Hyers said. “He’s able to get the barrel to it and get some contact out front.”
Riley has noticed the difference himself.
“When you’re going out there trying to hit 100, you can’t think about mechanics,” Riley said, via Cano. “You have to go out there and trust your plan.”
That may be the most important part of where he is now. The Braves aren't asking Riley to reinvent his swing every night. They need him to trust the work enough that the corrections become instinctive once the game starts.
Thursday provided an encouraging example.
It also came at a critical time for Atlanta. The Braves have gone 8-8 since Aug. 3 and have seen their offense slide during that stretch, ranking 22nd in runs scored and 28th in on-base percentage. Now they head into back-to-back series against the Brewers and Dodgers, the two teams ahead of them atop the National League.
Riley knows what that stretch requires.
After Grant Holmes carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning Thursday, Riley praised the Braves' pitching staff and specifically pointed toward the bullpen that closed out the game.
“We’re going to need them down the stretch, and once we get into the postseason, we’re going to need them,” Riley said postgame, via Braves Vision. “They’ve been the backbone for us this year.”
Atlanta will need that pitching. It may also need Riley to keep doing what he did Thursday.
For a player who spent much of the first half searching for the right answers, his recent production suggests some of those answers are finally starting to show up when the games begin.
