Braves third baseman Austin Riley won’t play in the final two games because of quadriceps tightness.
Riley missed two games before returning Friday, starting at first base and shifting over to third when Freddie Freeman entered the game before extra innings. Riley made one play at third, fielding a grounder that resulted in the first out of the 10th inning.
“He was feeling great, but he felt it on that play he made,” manager Brian Snitker said. “So we’re just going to stay away from him the rest of the weekend, get him four days of treatment. Hopefully he’ll be able to get some live at-bats off the early group. We just don’t want to take any chances.”
Riley played well at first base, moving smoothly and making an important throw in the ninth, when he fired home for a force out. Riley has started 46 games at third base, four in left field and two at first base this season.
The Braves sound confident it won’t be a lingering issue. They begin postseason play Sept. 30, when they’ll host a best-of-three wild-card series against the National League’s yet-to-be-determined No. 2 seed.
“I think he’ll be fine,” Snitker said. “I saw him this morning, and he was out walking around. He just felt it, and if you feel it there’s no sense in pushing him. We’ll get him treated, he can hit and all that, but we wanted to keep him away from quick movements and running right now.”
Riley finishes his second season hitting .239/.301/.415 with eight homers and 27 RBIs. Streaks have defined Riley’s early career. He hit .286 with a .875 OPS in August, hitting five homers and knocking in 17 runs in 22 games. He followed with a .239 average, .669 OPS and two homers with seven RBIs this month (22 games).
While it was a smaller sample size, Riley lowered his whiff rate against fastballs from 30.6 percent to 21.6. He whiff rate against breaking balls dropped from 48.3 to 39.7. Riley displayed incremental improvement that wasn’t always reflected statistically. This will be his first postseason after not making the roster last October.
Adeiny Hechavarria has handled third base in Riley’s absence. He’s 3-for-12 in his past three games, but the usually sound defender has made three errors in the past two nights.
Notes from Saturday:
- Left-hander Tucker Davidson was set for his first MLB start Saturday night. Davidson, 24, is a hard thrower who’s posted gaudy strikeout numbers but needs to lessen his walks. He’ll be the 14th pitcher to start for the Braves this season, and the third to make his first career start, joining Huascar Ynoa and Ian Anderson. The 2019 Braves used 11 different starters across their 97-win season.
“I’ve been real interested in this kid since I saw him in major-league camp,” Snitker said of Davidson. “I love his assortment. I love his arm. You look back, and there’s a kid who has a lot of minor-league innings and has been very successful, too. He’s ready for this. He’s not a guy we’re rushing to the big leagues. He’s been all the levels, had success, and it’s a great opportunity for him.”
- Davidson and Bryse Wilson are making the Braves' final two starts. Their postseason rotation isn’t yet official, but it’s lined up as Max Fried, Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright. The Braves feel good about that group, especially considering the hand they’ve been dealt for most of the season.
“I better be (comfortable with these starters),” Snitker said. “That’s what we’ve got (laughs). But I am. I like where they’re at right now. Kyle and Ian both were really good their last times out. They’ve made significant strides. I feel really good about where they are.”
Their development is further aided by pitching in meaningful games, the manager added.
“You can’t replicate what they’re going through right now,” Snitker said. “Pennant races, playoff games. You can’t replicate that. They have to experience it to know how to handle it, and the more they experience it, the more they handle it, the better and more battle tested they’re going to be.”
- Something else that will help Braves starters: The offense averages 5.95 runs per game, their highest per-game average in the modern era. They emphatically snap cold spells, as well. For example, the Braves scored three runs over a 16-inning span entering the eighth frame Friday. They scored seven in the next four innings.
- The Braves would host the Reds in the wild-card round if the current standings hold. Cincinnati might be the last team the higher seeds want to see because of the starting trio of Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto broadcast his team’s confidence Friday: “We’re an (expletive) nightmare and everybody knows that.” If they’re the Braves' draw, the offense vs. Cincinnati’s starters would be fun to watch.
- When asked to describe his team to a national audience that hasn’t been heavily exposed to the Braves, Snitker said: “It’s a fun group of guys to watch. They’re very entertaining. We’re like an NBA game. Nothing happens until late in the game most of the time, so you don’t want to leave early.”
