Riley went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Wednesday's win over the Marlins.
It took 19 games, but Riley finally left the yard in 2026 when he launched a first-pitch fastball from John King over the left-field wall to lead off the sixth inning. The third baseman has a rough start to the campaign, but over the last eight games he's batting .303 (10-for-33) with three doubles, two steals, seven RBI and eight runs.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Swipes second bag of season
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Riley went 1-for-5 with a run scored, two RBI and a stolen base in Monday's loss to the Marlins.
The 29-year-old third baseman has never been much of a runner -- his career high in steals is three and his career high in attempts in four, marks he set in 2023 -- but Riley already has two stolen bases in two attempts through the first 17 games of 2026. Atlanta's addition of Antoan Richardson to the coaching staff may have something to do with Riley's newfound spark on the basepaths, as it was Richardson who helped Juan Soto jump from seven steals to 38 with the Mets last season. The rest of Riley's offensive profile continues to lag, however, as he's slashing just .226/.324/.274 and has yet to homer this year.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Drives in two runs
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Riley went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's win over Cleveland.
Riley added to the blowout with a two-RBI double in the eighth inning to extend Atlanta's lead to 12. It's been a slow start to the season for the third baseman, who owns a .614 OPS through 16 games with no homers to date, though his numbers have improved of late, as the 29-year-old is slashing .280/.400/.360 over his past seven contests.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Crosses plate three times in win
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Riley went 1-for-3 with two walks, a double, three runs scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Angels.
It was a busy day on the basepaths for the third baseman, who isn't exactly known for his wheels -- the steal was just the eighth of Riley's career, and his first of 2026. He's still looking for his first homer of the year, and through 13 games Riley is slashing .200/.308/.244 with two doubles, three RBI and six runs.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Receiving first day off
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Riley is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
It's the first day off of the season for Riley, who is batting .103 (3-for-29) with nine strikeouts in eight games since collecting three hits Opening Day. Mauricio Dubon will shift to the hot corner while Jorge Mateo picks up a start at shortstop in Sunday's series finale at Arizona.
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Braves' Austin Riley: On base four times in Friday's win
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Riley went 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Friday's win over the Royals.
While all of the third baseman's hits were singles, it was still an impressive start to the season. Riley has seen his offensive production decline the last two years as he struggled to stay healthy, but if he stays in the lineup the 28-year-old is more than capable of returning to the level he established in 2021-23, when he averaged 36 homers and 99 RBI a year with a .286/.354/.525 slash line.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Roaring into regular season
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Riley went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox.
The long ball wasn't a cheap one -- Riley got hold of a Garrett Crochet cutter in the second inning and put it over the ersatz Green Monster at JetBlue Park. It was Riley's fifth homer of the spring, and the third baseman knocked both his doubles off Boston's ace as well. Over 15 Grapefruit League games, Riley is batting .395 (15-for-38) with a 6:8 BB:K, and he looks more than ready for Opening Day.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Might run more this season
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Riley could be surprisingly active as a base stealer this season under the tutelage of new Atlanta baserunning coach Antoan Richardson, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Richardson was the man most responsible for Juan Soto's stunning 38-steal campaign last season, and while Riley has only seven career stolen bases in seven MLB seasons, he's not actually slow of foot -- his sprint speed in 2025 ranked in the 73rd percentile. "He's going to get 20," center fielder Michael Harris said Friday. Riley was successful on his only steal attempt of the spring so far, but until he actually shows more willingness to use his legs, any contribution he makes in steals should be viewed as a bonus by fantasy GMs.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Launches first spring homer
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Riley went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in Atlanta's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates on Wednesday.
The third baseman took Jarod Bayless deep in the third inning, taking advantage of Paul Skenes' exit two batters prior. Riley was fully healthy for the first time in a while this offseason, and he's looking to rebound after a couple tough campaigns that saw him hit just 35 homers in 212 regular-season games with a .760 OPS -- a sharp decline for the 28-year-old after he belted 75 long balls with an .869 OPS in 2022-23 while missing only six games in total.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Transferred to 60-day IL
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Atlanta transferred Riley (abdomen) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.
The transaction frees a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Ha-Seong Kim (back), who was claimed off waivers from the Rays on Monday. Riley underwent season-ending core surgery nearly two weeks ago and is expected to be ready for spring training.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Undergoes season-ending surgery
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Atlanta announced Thursday that Riley (abdomen) underwent season-ending core injury surgery.
Riley is expected to be ready for the start of spring training in February. The third baseman has been out since Aug. 2 and had been experiencing soreness in his abdominal area, and he was rehabbing to play again this year before suffering a setback this week. With surgery now in the rearview mirror, Riley's 2025 season is officially over, and he finished with a .260/.309/.428 slash line, 16 home runs, 54 RBI, 54 runs scored, two stolen bases and a 27:128 BB:K across 447 plate appearances. Now that he's done for the year, Riley will have missed a total of 112 games over the past two seasons.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Runs bases, still feels sore
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Riley ran the bases Sunday but still felt some abdominal discomfort, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
He will run again Tuesday, but a timeline for Riley's return to the Atlanta roster remains unclear. Riley has been sidelined for most of this month with a strained lower abdominal muscle. Nacho Alvarez will continue filling in at third base for Atlanta until Riley is ready to return from the injured list.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Still discomfort while throwing
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Riley (abdomen) still felt discomfort while throwing Tuesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Riley is eligible to come off the 10-day IL on Friday, but the expectation is that he's going to need more time to recover from his abdominal strain. Nacho Alvarez has been handling the bulk of the third-base duties for Atlanta while Riley has been sidelined.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Not expected to need rehab stint
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Riley (abdomen) likely won't need a rehab assignment before rejoining Atlanta's lineup, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Manager Brian Snitker wouldn't offer a guess as to when the third baseman might be activated from the IL, but Riley's not expected to be too far behind Ronald Acuna (calf), who should rejoin the lineup before the end of the week. Riley has been sidelined since Aug. 2 after aggravating an abdominal strain that had previously cost him eight games sandwiched around the All-Star break. It's been a disappointing season overall for the 28-year-old, whose .737 OPS would be his lowest mark since he became a full-time player in 2021.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Back to IL with abdominal strain
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Atlanta placed Riley on the 10-day injured list Monday with a strained lower abdominal muscle.
Riley spent a couple weeks on the injured list in July with an abdominal strain and is now back on the IL after aggravating the injury Sunday. He will be eligible for activation Aug. 14, but Atlanta will likely be more cautious with his recovery this time around. Nacho Alvarez was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to step in as the everyday third baseman.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Departs due to abdominal pain
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Riley was removed from Sunday's game against the Reds due to lower abdominal pain.
Sunday was slated to be an off day for Cincinnati and Atlanta, but the two clubs instead resumed Saturday's MLB Speedway Classic after the game was suspended in the first inning due to rain. Riley struck out swinging Saturday before the game was halted, and he was replaced by Luke Williams before coming up to the plate Sunday. The severity of the injury remains unclear, and Riley should be considered day-to-day heading into Monday's series opener versus Milwaukee. Given that Riley was reinstated July 25 following a stint on the injured list due to a lower abdominal strain, it's worrisome that he's seemingly dealing with a recurrence of the injury just over a week later.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Homers, plates four in win
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Riley went 2-for-6 with a homer, a double, and four RBI in Monday's 10-7 victory at Kansas City.
The Atlanta third baseman clubbed a 422-foot solo shot off Royals reliever Sam Long to tally his first long ball since returning from an abdomen injury July 25. Riley also cleared the bases with his 20th two-bagger of the season in the eighth to notch his fourth game with four or more RBI this season. Through 427 total plate appearances, the two-time All-Star is slashing .268/.319/.437 with 15 homers, 52 RBI and 52 runs scored in 97 games.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Back from injured list
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Atlanta reinstated Riley (abdomen) from the 10-day injured list Friday.
The third baseman was still feeling some discomfort in his lower abdomen earlier this week, but he's ready to rejoin the big-league roster Friday after spending two weeks on the injured list. Riley had a hot start to July prior to the injury, going 13-for-41 (.317 average) with five doubles, two homers, six RBI and five runs in 10 games.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Still feeling symptoms
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Riley indicated Tuesday that he still felt some discomfort in his lower abdomen, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports. Atlanta is targeting Friday for the third baseman to return from the injured list.
"Not sore, but I think there's still a shadow of something in there, from talking to him," manager Brian Snitker said Tuesday. "And we started thinking about it -- using the next two days with the off day is probably the smart thing." Atlanta's place in the standings doesn't give the team much incentive to rush Riley back into the lineup, but the schedule also worked against his earlier return, as a Tuesday night activation would have been followed by a quick turnaround before a Wednesday afternoon contest. Atlanta begins a nine-game road trip Friday against the Rangers, but Snitker wouldn't commit to Riley suiting up for that contest. "We'll see how he feels when he wakes up Friday," the manager said.
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Braves' Austin Riley: Lands on injured list
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Atlanta placed Riley on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right abdominal strain.
Riley's abdomen forced him to make an early exit during the fourth inning of Friday's contest, and now that further evaluation has confirmed a strain, he'll remain on the sidelines until at least July 22. Nacho Alvarez will come up from Triple-A Gwinnett to replenish Atlanta's infield depth, though Luke Williams is the most likely option to take over at third base until Riley returns.
