Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley hit a clutch three-run homer on Tuesday, winning his team the first game of a crucial Wild Card series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Riley's go-ahead homer came in the eighth inning, and marked the third go-ahead homer in his postseason career—setting a franchise record. After the game, Braves manager Walt Weiss heaped praise onto the two-time All-Star, who struggled during the regular season.
"So happy for Austin Riley," Weiss said. "Been a tough year for him, but it just goes to show you when the playoffs start everything starts from zero. Nothin that happened in the regular season really matters.
It's a clean slate, and Austin Riley has been a great player in postseason play." Riley, 29, broke out for the Braves in the 2021 season, hitting 33 homers while tallying 107 RBIs on the year. He had 6.3 bWAR and earned a Silver Slugger award that season. He continued slugging for the next two seasons, hitting more than 30 homers and making the All-Star Game in each year.
After the 2023 season, though, Riley's production at the play started to slow. He had a sub-.800 OPS for the first time since 2020 in 2024, and failed to reach the 20-homer mark that season. Further decline followed in 2025, as he had just a .737 OPS with 16 homers.
In 2026, Riley posted a below league-average bat for the first time since 2020, and failed to reach 20 homers for a third consecutive season. A boost in his confidence could make all the difference for the Braves, who are looking to make it back to the NLDS for the first time since losing to the Phillies in 2023. They're now just one game away from that goal, but will have to remain focused in Wednesday's game in order to advance and face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.
Last year's NL Cy Young runner-up Cristopher Sánchez will start the second game against the Braves, who need to overcome their struggles against left-handed pitching to move on to the next round of the postseason. The second game of the Braves' Wild Card series comes Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.
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