The Atlanta Braves have been one of the league’s most injured teams this season, and their fate is only getting worse.
They are attempting to secure the third wild card berth in the National League despite the absence of several All-Star players.
During Sunday’s game against the Angels, they added another All-Star to their roster of players who face injury concerns.
Austin Riley was removed from the game after getting hit in the hand
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Austin Riley removed from Braves game after HBP on hand
Austin Riley, the Braves’ third baseman, was hit on the hand by a first-inning fastball against the Angels. 97 mph right out of the hand. Riley would run the bases before being removed after the inning.
He was obviously in discomfort, but the Braves franchise could suffer even more if Riley is forced to miss any significant amount of time. The best-case scenario is that they can manage the swelling, the imaging comes back negative, and Riley returns to the lineup within a day or two.
In the worst-case scenario, Riley is placed on the injured list, missing weeks of action. If his hand is broken at this point in the season, he might be out for the rest of the season, forcing the Braves to find another bat.
This is just the worst-case situation for a Braves team on the verge of a playoff place. They’ll need Riley if they hope to compete in the postseason.
Riley had a.256 batting average,.322 on-base percentage,.461 slugging percentage, 19 home runs, 56 RBI, 63 runs, and 109 hits in 425 at-bats (110 games).
For the time being, the Braves can only wait and see what the test results reveal about Riley’s hand. They can only hope that no significant damage occurred.
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