ATLANTA — Austin Riley showed signs of a turnaround at the plate, hitting a double and driving in a run in the Atlanta Braves' 4-1 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, Aug. 6. The win extended the Braves' season-high winning streak to seven games.
Riley's ground-rule double off Eury Perez in the third inning helped put Atlanta on the scoreboard. It was his fourth consecutive game with an extra-base hit.
The third baseman also went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 4-2 win against the Marlins. His 13th home run of the season came off John King in the seventh inning, providing insurance for the Braves.
That recent surge stands in sharp contrast to Riley's overall 2026 campaign. He holds a.221 batting average, 13 homers and 56 RBIs, with a season slash line of.220/.296/.360 — on pace to be his lowest output since his rookie season in 2019.
Riley's improvement has come since the All-Star break. Over 18 games since the break, he posted a.303/.352/.545 slash line, including four doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs. He has hit.290 with four home runs across his last 17 games.
The uptick follows a stretch of struggle that led manager Walt Weiss to bench Riley. Weiss kept Riley out of the starting lineup on Thursday, July 30, against the Washington Nationals, with Mauricio Dubón taking over at third base.
Weiss also benched Riley for a game on a recent Sunday, though Riley was called upon late. The manager said the decision was strategy, not punishment. "When an everyday player is struggling a little bit, you let him watch a game from the dugout," Weiss said. "That's one of the best ways to slow the game down for a guy that's scuffling a bit."
Riley's performance since opening day had been difficult, with a.097 batting average (3-for-31), three walks, two RBIs and one extra-base hit. He recorded two hitless streaks of three consecutive games. On the Sunday he was benched, he failed to capitalize on two late-game opportunities with runners on base, hitting a pop-up and a soft fly ball.
Despite the struggles, Weiss expressed confidence in Riley. "Riley's got a — I mean, he's got a hot streak coming, and he did some good work today, and I don't worry about him," Weiss said.
Atlanta's pitching has driven the winning streak as well. Bryce Elder threw one-hit ball over seven innings in the 4-1 win over Miami. Grant Holmes also delivered a scoreless start in Tuesday's 4-2 victory, extending the recent success of Atlanta's rotation.
The Braves faced criticism for not acquiring a top-line starting pitcher at the trade deadline. Holmes' strong performance came after that scrutiny. Riley acknowledged the unpredictable nature of the game. "This game's crazy how it works," he said.
Riley's 2026 advanced metrics show an average exit velocity of 90.8, a 44 percent hard-hit rate, a.293 wOBA and an 11.4 percent barrel rate.
