Riley searching for consistency as Braves' offense slumbers

ATLANTA – Austin Riley expressed frustration about his prolonged struggles as he spoke to reporters after the Braves’ suddenly slumbering offense was once again silenced in a 2-1 loss to the Nationals on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park.

“Let’s see some consistency,” Riley said. “This game is about being consistent. I’d like to get there. Not have one good day and then take two steps back kind of deal. Let’s get on a run of consistency.”

This comment certainly wasn’t aimed at the Braves, who lost the final two games of this three-game set to suffer just their second series loss of the season. They rallied to claim an 11-inning win on Friday. But, they were limited to one hit on Saturday and they went 17 straight innings without scoring before avoiding a second straight shutout by plating a run in Sunday’s ninth inning.

The Nationals own MLB’s fifth-highest ERA and the Braves rank second in the Majors in runs. So, what happened?

“It’s just difficult to go out and score six or seven runs every single night,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “So there's going to be times where you have a handful of guys that are searching for it at the same time. I think that's kind of what we're going through right now.”

The Braves certainly miss Drake Baldwin, who could be out at least a month with the right oblique strain he suffered on Monday. But, they also miss the MVP-caliber production of Matt Olson, whose OPS has dropped from 1.031 to .887 as he has hit .160 (8-for-50) with just two extra-base hits over his past 13 games.

Do these struggles have anything to do with the elbow discomfort Olson showed when he swung and missed a pitch on May 15? Weiss and Olson have repeatedly said no.

“He’s been so good since the start of the season that these things tend to level off,” Weiss said. “But, I feel really good any time Matt Olson is in the batter's box. I feel like something good is about to happen, and it usually does.”

The same has been said about Ronald Acuña Jr. throughout his career. But, when the 2023 NL MVP weakly grounded out with the bases loaded to end Sunday’s game, he just extended his struggles. He has hit .242 with two homers and a .714 OPS through 40 games. But, he has played just six games since missing a few weeks with a hamstring strain.

As for Riley, he has hit .223 with eight homers and a .672 OPS thus far. This is just the second time his OPS has been below .750 through his first 54 games of a season. But, history shows he is still capable of turning things around in impressive fashion.

After producing a .653 OPS through the first 54 games of 2024, Riley hit .283 with 15 homers and a .913 OPS over his remaining 56 games that year. His season ended after a pitch fractured his right hand on Aug. 18, which ended his bid for a fourth straight 30-homer season.

So, when will he get on a roll this year? There was some thought he gained the necessary spark when he homered and doubled in a May 17 win over the Red Sox. But, he has gone 6-for-25 with a homer since then.

Two of those hits occurred after the one-hour, 28-minute rain delay that started in Sunday’s seventh inning. He began the bottom of the seventh with a single that came off his bat at 111.9 mph, his highest exit velocity of the season. This kind of contact has been rare this year. His hard-hit rate (50.2 to 45.7) and barrel rate (15.2 to 10.1) are both down from last season, which was also a down year.

“The last two at-bats [my hands] didn't push,” Riley said. “I was able to work above the ball with my hands and kind of get that back elbow in the right spot and drive through the ball. I’m just having a hard time right now keeping it consistent on a daily basis.”

Instead of being upbeat about the singles he tallied in Sunday’s seventh and ninth innings, Riley didn’t let himself forget that he struck out with a runner in scoring position during his first two plate appearances on Sunday.

“It’s like with everybody, he’s just trying to find the consistency in this league,” Weiss said. “But, he obviously has a great track record. It makes you feel good about what’s coming.”