Braves hopeful Riley’s escape helps prevent major injury

Losing an All-Star third baseman who has been producing Gold Glove-caliber defense is considerably more devastating than losing a single game in mid-May.

So, until the Braves re-evaluate Austin Riley’s left oblique on Monday, they won’t know if the damage from Sunday night goes beyond a 4-3 loss to the Mets at Citi Field.

“I hope he plays [Monday], but I’m not sure if he will,” Braves manager Brian Snitker stated. “We’ll know when we get back to Atlanta and they meet him, test him, and so on. We’ll know on Monday.”

Brandon Nimmo left Saturday’s game with what seemed to be an oblique injury. However, Nimmo stopped a Braves sweep by entering in the middle of the game on Sunday and hitting a two-run walk-off homer against A.J. Minter, who was utilized as a closer because Raisel Iglesias and Joe Jiménez were unavailable.

The Braves had nothing to enjoy about Nimmo’s home run other than the fact that it gave them optimism that Riley would return similarly.

“I think we’re just going to see how my body feels once I wake up,” Riley stated. “I think that will tell us a lot.”

Riley noticed some difficulty during batting practice, but he didn’t tell the team’s medical personnel because he assumed it was usual stiffness from a 162-game season. The condition became apparent in the third inning, when he favored his left side after whiffing to finish a strikeout.

Nonetheless, the discomfort was not severe enough for him to leave until the bottom of the fourth inning, when he was replaced by Zack Short at third base. Riley was removed as a precaution due to left side discomfort, according to the Braves’ instant announcement.

“If we’re not careful, you take a swing and [the oblique] goes and it’s just like [Sean Murphy’s oblique injury] and you miss two months,” Snitker stated.

Fortunately for the Braves, this ailment does not appear to be as serious as the one that has kept Murphy out since Opening Day. Murphy whiffed, dropped his bat in obvious pain, and then made his way to the clubhouse.

Snitker announced Murphy would be placed on the injured list after the game in Philadelphia. Riley’s predicament was not even serious enough for him to consult with the medical professionals before speaking to the media following Sunday’s game.

So the Braves are hoping Riley is suffering from anything akin to the short-term pain that sidelined Nimmo for half a game.

“We’re trying to be smart in the way we go about this versus trying to play through it,” Riley stated. “Hopefully, we can get on top of it and not miss a whole lot.”

If the Braves only need someone to play third base for a few days, Short, who signed with the Braves on Friday after being released by the Mets and Red Sox in recent weeks, may fill the role.

Short went 1-for-9 with the Mets before being designated for assignment on April 26. Despite this, he drew two walks in his first two plate appearances with the Braves. He scored on Ozuna’s sixth-inning single and later crossed the plate when the veteran slugger hit the go-ahead single in the eighth.

Ozuna leads the National League with 12 home runs and the Majors with 40 RBI. He and Hank Aaron are the only Braves to have driven in 40 or more runs in the team’s first 37 games. Aaron had 44 RBI in 37 games in 1959 and 41 RBI in 37 games in 1970.

Unfortunately for the Braves, the offensive productivity didn’t extend much beyond Ozuna. Jarred Kelenic homered for the second time in his last four outings. Ronald Acuña Jr. singled, walked, but was picked off first base twice.

“That’s two good moves,” Snitker explained. “I’ve seen that where first basemen are playing, they’re getting the ball to those players faster than they used to. They’re not being tagged at the bag. They are also being labeled out.”

The clubhouse was quiet, with Acuña sitting in front of his locker and Minter lamenting another home run. Each of the seven runs he has allowed this year has come via the long ball, two of which have been hit by Nimmo.

This was a devastating loss, but the degree of the harm will be determined by Riley’s recovery time.