Austin Riley Showing Braves That Surge Could Be For Real

With each passing game, the sample size grows. There is further confidence that this latest stretch can be for real.

Austin Riley picked up another two-hit night as the Atlanta Braves outlasted the Baltimore Orioles in extra innings, 7-6. One of his hits was a game-tying RBI single that came off the bat at 109.5 mph in the bottom of the fourth inning.

His other hit also came off the bat at 100 mph.

Over his last 11 games, Riley is batting .325 with a .950 OPS, three home runs and eight RBIs. Even when he's gotten out, he's been having good at-bats and hitting the ball hard.

This span has him on a 162-game pace of 42 home runs and 117 RBIs. He's looked much closer to the All-Star version of himself.

Since the season resumed following the All-Star break, he's hat an exit velocity of 100 mph or greater on 12 different batted balls in play. These exit velocities have come off a variety of pitches as well. He's not just sitting on a single pitch.

Three have come off a changeup. Four are off four-seam fastballs. One came off a cutter, a sinker, a slider and a curveball each. One pitch was listed as just "fastball."

Succeeding against a variety of pitches bodes well for him keeping this up for a bit.

While it's not just Riley doing the heavy lifting, it shouldn't be surprising that the Braves are winning the games he's performing in. Of those last 11 games, the team has won seven of them, including five of their last six.

As Austin Riley starts to find his way, the Braves are as well. This success has allowed them to start regaining their cushion in the National League East. Heading into the break, they had a two-game lead over the Phillies. That has since extended to five and half games.

Second-half surges are not without their precedents on this team. Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies showed that last season. Riley is showing that he could be next.

Eventually, he'll hit another snag. This is a game of ups and downs. It's a marathon, and not a sprint. What will be curious to see if what those dips look like and how long do they last.

As the track record continues to build, those handful of games may go unnoticed. At that point, we may know with more certainty that he's returning to form.

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