Braves fans ecstatic after Austin Riley blasts homer early in Game Four vs. Phillies - "Absolute beast"
Atlanta Braves slugger Austin Riley does not want to see his season end on Thursday. The slugger hit a home run in the fourth innings off Ranger Suarez to give them an early lead against the Philadelphia Phillies.
It was not a no-doubter, as the ball barely got out after hitting the top of the fence. Either way, a run is a run, and those are hard to come by in the postseason.
Home runs have come in bunches for Riley this season. Through 159 regular season games, he has 37 under his belt, one away from tying a career-high that he set the previous season.
He is not the only Braves player that has seen the ball well this season. They had five players who hit over 30 home runs during the regular season.
"Absolute beast" one fan posted.
"Absolutely silenced that crowd wow" another fan posted.
Austin Riley's homer got Braves fans excited. They are facing elimination and need all the runs they can get. If not, they will watch the rest of the postseason in their own homes.
However, the Braves would give up their early lead quickly. Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner homered to put the Phillies on top by a score of 2-1.
Austin Riley is growing into a premiere third baseman
The Braves drafted Austin Riley in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft. He was originally planning to play ball at Mississippi State University but forgone his commitment to play in the big leagues.
He would spend his next few years in Atlanta's farm system before debuting in the big leagues in 2019. It took just two at-bats to hit his first MLB home run, which came off Michael Wacha.
In his first 14 games, he had seven home runs. He earned the National League Rookie of the Month Award in May.
So far, Riley has seen great success in the big leagues. He is a two-time All-Star (2022, 2023), All-MLB First Team (2021), Silver Slugger Award (2021) and won a World Series (2021).
The Braves are happy with the player he has become and is a reason for much of the team's recent success. He has become one of the most consistent hitters to play the hot corner.
This is just the start for Riley, who is 26 years old. It will be interesting to see how far he will go during his career.