The Braves opened the second half of their season Friday without Austin Riley in the lineup, but the third baseman indicated he is close to returning.
“I feel good,” Riley said before the Braves’ series against the Yankees. “I feel like I’m taking big strides — swung a little bit in the cage, obviously did some drills out there — so feel good.”
The club placed Riley on the 10-day injured list on July 12 with a strained right abdomen. He said he felt the injury on a pair of defensive plays against the Cardinals the day before — on a bunt from Pedro Pagés in the second inning and a groundout from Willson Contreras in the third — but is not sure what caused it to occur.
“I was a little confused on how it happened,” said Riley, who received treatment in Memphis, Tennessee, during the All-Star break. “I prepare well before the games and make sure my body’s ready. I felt like I checked all the boxes I needed to to get ready for the game.”
Riley, who is batting .274 for Atlanta this season with 14 home runs, appeared optimistic about his recovery timeline. But the two-time All-Star was not ready to commit to a specific return date.
He is eligible to be activated on July 22 during the Braves’ series with the Giants. Nacho Alvarez Jr., who hit .361 in 11 games for Triple-A Gwinnett before his call-up, has started all three games in his absence.
“We’ll see, but I feel really good, really encouraged,” Riley said. “I’m going to get out there as soon as I can, that’s for sure.”
The Braves are 10 games under .500 as they try to fight for their eighth consecutive playoff appearance.
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