ALANTA — One day after third baseman Austin Riley was hit in the right hand by a 97-mph fastball, the Braves got the news that they feared: Fractured bone. He’s expected to miss six to eight weeks.
When it rains, it’s a torrential downpour for the Braves, who have sustained one devastating injury after another literally since Opening Day, when All-Star catcher Sean Murphy strained an oblique that sidelined him two months.
They’ve managed to remain in postseason contention — they currently are third in the NL wild-card standings — despite all the injuries including season-ending surgeries for preseason Cy Young Award favorite Spencer Strider after just two starts and reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. in late May.
GO DEEPERBraves' Spencer Strider candidly discusses his elbow surgery and pitching injury 'epidemic'But losing Riley, with no replacement even remotely capable of either slugging or playing defense like he does and no ability to trade for one with the trade deadline passed, could prove too difficult for the Braves to overcome, at least in terms of the NL East race.
Utiliy player Luke Williams took over at third base Sunday after Riley exited in the first inning, and he could get a shot at filling in, along with veteran utilitymen Brian Anderson and Alejo López, who’s hit .308 with a .394 OBP at Triple-A Gwinnett but lacks power. Top shortstop prospect Nacho Alvarez has played some third base at Gwinnett and for one game during his July call-up to the majors, but Alvarez, currently sidelined by pneumonia, looked overmatched at the plate and was optioned back to Triple A after going 3-for-30 with 10 strikeouts and no walks in eight games for Atlanta
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The Braves’ run of six consecutive NL East titles has never appeared more perilous than now, with the loss of Riley just as Atlanta is about to play the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies seven times in the next 13 days beginning with a three-game home series that starts Tuesday.
The Phillies lead the Braves by seven games despite Philadelphia’s own extended slump. The Braves are 3 ½ games behind San Diego and 2 ½ behind Arizona, with the New York Mets just two games behind Atlanta.
X-rays and other tests done on Riley’s hand in the hours after he was injured Sunday at Anaheim were inconclusive, but the Braves sent him to their specialist Monday in Atlanta, and an MRI revealed the fracture. Riley will not need surgery, barring any unexpected developments.
Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz hit Riley, one day after Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud was hit just above the wrist by Angels reliever José Cisnero. X-rays were negative for d’Arnaud, but he was still sore and unavailable Sunday.
The Braves were off Monday, and they won’t know until Tuesday whether d’Arnaud will be available.
After finishing a 6-4 trip with series wins at San Francisco and Anaheim, capped by Sunday’s 3-1 win against the Angeles, the Braves boarded their team plane holding out hope that Riley’s injury would be something less than a fracture. But in this season, almost every injury to a Braves player has turned out to be the worst-case-scenario.
Riley is third on the team in homers with 19, behind Marcell Ozuna (36) and Matt Olson (19). No other Brave has more than 13.
Riley also is third among Braves in RBIs with 56, behind NL leader Ozuna (93) and Olson (63). Ozzie Albies is fourth at 46 despite being on the IL for the past four weeks and having missed more than 30 games this season with injuries. It’s been that kind of season. Slumps and injuries galore.
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The inventory of Braves injuries is lengthy, beginning with losing Murphy and Strider in the first two weeks of the season. They lost leadoff hitter extraordinaire Acuña, and later lost their replacement leadoff hitter, center fielder Michael Harris II, who just returned from the 60-day IL last week after missing two months with a hamstring strain.
Reliever A.J. Minter is having hip surgery this week, and All-Star starting pitchers Reynaldo López and Max Fried have each spent time on the IL for forearm injuries, with López set to return Tuesday to start the series opener against the Phillies.
In a strange coincidence, the injuries to Acuña, Albies, López and Riley (both times) occurred during Sunday series finales, and Acuña and Riley (both times) were injured in the top of the first inning of road games
Required reading
- Three Braves takeaways: Austin Riley wrist concern, Charlie Morton’s uptick and more
- Ronald Acuña Jr. stays positive before upcoming surgery; Braves continue to sputter
- Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. knows all too well the emotional toll of a long injury rehab
(Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
David O'Brien is a senior writer covering the Atlanta Braves for The Athletic. He previously covered the Braves for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covered the Marlins for eight seasons, including the 1997 World Series championship. He is a two-time winner of the NSMA Georgia Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow David on Twitter @DOBrienATL
