The Atlanta Braves lost to the New York Mets by a final of 7-3 on Wednesday afternoon.
As a result, they are now 2.5 games out of first place in the NL East.
In the loss, slugger Austin Riley hit a solo home run in the eighth inning against Drew Smith.
It was his 25th blast of the season, just as we prepare to reach the All-Star break.
As it turns out, he made some franchise history with that home run.
“Austin Riley now joins Hank Aaron (three times), Eddie Mathews (twice), Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Dale Murphy, Andres Galarraga and Darrell Evans as the only Braves to hit 25 homers or more before the All-Star break,” MLB.com Braves beat reporter Mark Bowman tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.
Austin Riley now joins Hank Aaron (three times), Eddie Mathews (twice), Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Dale Murphy, Andres Galarraga and Darrell Evans as the only Braves to hit 25 homers or more before the All-Star break.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 13, 2022
Those are some of the best players in Braves’ history, so yes: Riley has been having a huge year.
After the game, his slash line is .284/.348/.568, with 25 homers and a .916 OPS.
On His Way To Finish With Career-Highs Across The Board
He seems well on his way to surpass the 33 home runs he hit last year, a career-high.
Barring any injuries, Riley will finish out the season as the perfect lineup complement to Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr.
In fact, Riley is a star in his own right.
He has already hit 47 extra-base hits (21 doubles, one triple), which is a tally that many young sluggers would love to finish over a full season.
A top prospect for years, Riley finally broke through in 2021.
Now, he is one of the best and most exciting established young stars in MLB.
His excellent performance is a big reason why the Braves managed to cut down their deficit in the NL East to just 2.5 games.
It was over 10 games at one point.
