Austin Riley Hits Two Blasts to Extend Streak, Lead Braves Past Blue Jays

During the first week of the 2025 regular season, no Atlanta Braves hitters performed all that well. But it felt as though the key bat the Braves really needed to get going was third baseman Austin Riley.

That could have been why the veteran was so hard on himself after the team's embarrassing first road trip of the year.

Fortunately for Riley and the Braves, the second road trip of 2025 is going a lot better. The third baseman is on a seven-game hitting streak and recorded his first multi-homer performance of the season Monday.

Behind five RBI from Riley, the Braves knocked off the Toronto Blue Jays 8-4 in the series opener.

Now hitting in the No. 2 hole of the Braves lineup, Riley's second homer Monday was the key at-bat of the night. The Braves already led 5-0 but his no-doubter blast to left center left little doubt over who would win Monday night's contest.

Austin Riley's SECOND homer of the game scores 3️⃣@austinriley1308 | #BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/ZA5AAJjarq
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 15, 2025

It had to be a sigh of relief for a Braves team that has scored at least eight runs only one other time this season. Atlanta's previous three wins were also by just one or two runs.

The wider margin gave starter Grant Holmes, who was tremendous, a longer leash. The end result will be extra rest for the bullpen, which could pay dividends Tuesday or Wednesday.

Riley started the season as one of the coldest Braves hitters. But he's now recorded not just seven straight games with a hit but multiple hits in six of the past seven contests. During that time, he also has three doubles and now three homers.

Overall, Riley is 14-for-31 (.452) with eight RBI in the last seven games. That's raised his season batting average to .288 and OPS to .859.

The Braves are still only 5-11 and haven't won consecutive games yet this season. But they are now set up to finish the AL East road trip strongly.

Spencer Schwellenbach will start Tuesday night, and ace Spencer Strider is expected to make his return Wednesday. If the Braves can manage a split, they can finish the road trip with a .500 mark.

But with those two pitchers on the rubber and a rested bullpen, a sweep isn't out of the question. That would really help the Braves begin to climb out of their early-season hole.