The Atlanta Braves seem to always have a different batter step up throughout the season and right now it's Austin Riley.
Riley entered the final game of the series against the Brewers in red-hot form, standing out as the sole player in Braves history to achieve an impressive five-game stretch with at least six home runs and 16 RBIs.
His streak of five consecutive games with a home run was the longest in MLB since Mike Trout's seven-game homer streak last September. Unfortunately, Riley's streak halted at five on Sunday. The talented third baseman had a tough outing, going 0-4 with a strikeout. In one particular moment, he hit a dramatic broken bat shot up the middle, but the ball was caught for an out, with opposing fielders skillfully avoiding the flying shards of wood.
Nevertheless, Riley's recent hitting spree has significantly boosted his slash line to an impressive .270/.330/.488, and his home run count now stands at 22, with 66 RBIs to his name as the team heads into today's well-deserved off day.
NL East Standings
| Team | Record | GB | Action Today |
|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta |
64-34 |
- |
Off |
Philadelphia |
53-46 |
11.5 |
Hosts Baltimore |
Miami |
54-47 |
11.5 |
Off |
NYM |
46-53 |
18.5 |
Off |
Washington |
41-58 |
23.5 |
Hosts Colorado |
We wrote it
Lindsay Crosby covered the Sunday afternoon action for Braves Today. He highlighted the two starting caliber catchers for Atlanta.
Travis d'Arnaud got the scoring started for Atlanta with a 2nd inning solo shot, and later hit a double in the contest. Atlanta's in a fortunate place to have two catchers that could start for most of the league, and it's a sign of the type of depth and length that Atlanta has in this championship-caliber roster and lineup.
Both players are All-Star caliber catchers (Murphy was a starter at this year's Midsummer Classic, Travis d'Arnaud was voted to the team last season) that work interchangeably in the lineup, with the fifth spot in the order typically being filled by whichever catcher is in the game that day.
d'Arnaud typically starts the final game of a three-game series, but both have had stretches where they handled a majority of the load during an injury absence for the other.
Check out all of Sunday's takeaways here.
What's next for the Atlanta Braves?
Today's a much needed off day - the bullpen's been worked heavily in the last week, and most Braves starters play every game so they'll have an entire day to themselves tomorrow in Boston.
First pitch in Tuesday's series opener against the Red Sox is scheduled for 7:10 PM ET, with Charlie Morton taking the bump for Atlanta.
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