ATLANTA -- Manager Brian Snitker found himself talking about hustle for a second straight day. But instead of being asked about what Ronald Acu?a Jr. did six years ago, he gladly discussed how Austin Riley¡¯s sprint propelled the Braves toward their latest five-run eighth inning and a 7-6 win over the Cardinals on Monday night at Truist Park.
¡°Austin busted his hump down there,¡± Snitker said. ¡°That¡¯s a big, big play right there. A guy that big, and he can run.¡±
Riley knew exactly how fast he got down the first base line, saying ¡°29.3¡± as reporters neared his locker. Per Statcast, he was indeed running at 29.3 ft./sec. when he recorded the infield single that sparked Atlanta¡¯s eighth-inning uprising (30 ft/sec is considered elite). He was initially ruled out, but the call was reversed by a replay review.
Braves first baseman Matt Olson has often playfully asked ¡°Am I fast?¡± when he has done something on the basepaths. But Riley doesn¡¯t have to ask. He just turns on the jets when necessary. His average sprint speed for 2025 is 27.5 ft./sec.
¡°The numbers don¡¯t lie, check the numbers,¡± Riley said with a laugh.
The numbers have progressively improved for the Braves during a four-game winning streak that began on Friday, when they erased a three-run deficit with a five-run eighth against the Twins. These two late-inning rallies have shown there¡¯s plenty of fight left in a team that entered Friday having won just five of its first 18 games.
Unfortunately for the Braves, their three-game sweep over the Twins this past weekend was overshadowed by Ronald Acu?a Jr.¡¯s social media post on Sunday. Acu?a, who is still rehabbing his surgically repaired knee at the team¡¯s Spring Training complex in Florida, wrote, ¡°If it were me, they would take me out of the game.¡±
Acu?a was responding to Snitker¡¯s decision to not remove Jarred Kelenic for not hustling out of the box on a ball that hit the outfield wall on Saturday. Acu?a committed a similar transgression multiple times, both before and after he was benched during a game in 2019.
But even this small distraction hasn¡¯t deterred the Braves, whose two late rallies have been a product of some offensive awakenings.
¡°I think the biggest thing we take from this is confidence, confidence that it¡¯s in there,¡± Riley said. ¡°We just got to keep plugging away. It¡¯s not going to happen overnight.¡±
After Riley reached with his infield single and Marcell Ozuna drew Phil Maton¡¯s first walk of the eighth, Matt Olson slapped a game-tying RBI single through the right side. Olson has raised his OPS from .681 to .784 while going 5-for-12 with a homer and a double over the past four games.
The Braves have also seen great strides from Michael Harris II, who highlighted Friday¡¯s two-hit game with a game-tying single in the eighth. His latest contribution was the go-ahead sacrifice fly in this latest comeback win. The 23-year-old center fielder has raised his OPS from .507 to .605 while going 6-for-15 with a double and homer during the winning streak.
¡°It¡¯s a long season, so I knew it wouldn¡¯t take just one game to figure out what was going on,¡± Harris said. ¡°It was really about getting in the cage and figuring out what works for me and what has worked for me in the past,¡± Harris said. ¡°Getting back to that and feeling good these past four games is hopefully good for however many more games we have left.¡±
The Braves have also continued to benefit from the powerful bat of Sean Murphy, who has homered in five of the 39 at-bats he has collected since missing the season¡¯s first nine games with a cracked left rib. His three-run homer to cap the eighth proved big when Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias allowed three runs in a non-save situation.
Still even with Iglesias enduring another shaky outing, the Braves were able to celebrate yet again. Riley tallied his sixth home run of the season in the second inning. But keeping with the theme of the past couple of days, his most memorable contribution to this win may have been his hustle.
¡°You see Riley getting down the line and that got us going,¡± Harris said.