MILWAUKEE — Ozzie Albies bounced back from his minor slump in the eighth inning on Sunday with a three-run home run that gave the Braves the crucial 4-2 win in Milwaukee while Austin Riley couldn’t hit a home run. The fact that it was worth noting that Riley didn’t go deep said a lot about how productive the Braves’ third baseman was during a power-hitting attack that equaled or surpassed franchise records.
Albies slipped 0:16 when his first pitch drive against right-hander Elvis Peguero sailed over the field fence at center left, taking the Braves from a run down to another comeback win. It came on a day when they managed just three hits and one run in six innings against longtime Brave Julio Tehran, including a second-inning home run by Travis d’Arnaud.
“We play hard every day, regardless of the situation, whether we’re down or up – that clicks and keeps the team going,” said Albies, who scored the decisive home run after a two-goal hit and ended the 3-4 defeat on Saturday. “In the end I managed third place last night, but today I stood up for my team.”
Manager Brian Snitker said Albies is one of his “slow” players, unfazed by pressure. Upon hearing this, Albies said, “Yes, I actually want to be in those places. For me it’s exciting when you get to these big places.”
Orlando Arcia and Ronald Acuña each hit a single against Peguero before Albies hit his 23rd home run and first since July 4th. Not only did it unhook Bryce Elder after Elder pitched six solid innings and left a 2-1 deficit, it gave Daysbel Hernández a win in his major league debut after the 26-year-old Cuban knocked out three of four batters in the seventh inning.
The Braves won in the first game without a homer for Riley since July 16. He had a six-homer-in-five-game backswing that started, he said, after deciding to relax a bit and not push himself as hard because of his recent prolonged slump.
The impetus came from a discussion with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer on an off-day last Monday after Riley hit 7-of-42 (.196) with one home run and 17 strikeouts in the first 11 games in July and hit just .221 with five home runs and a .656 OPS in 30 games.
“Me and Seitz talked about pushing myself so hard and thinking about too many different things,” Riley said. “Even on the last day in Tampa (July 9th) I was 3 out of 4 but it just wasn’t good enough. I said, “I should have done this, I should have done that, I should have done something else.”
“I just had to understand more that this game is difficult and you have to have fun with it. Just play the game, don’t try to do too much, don’t think too much.”
After talking to Seitzer, Riley stopped chasing as many pitches out of the zone, stopped trying too much, and went off with a double, a triple, six homers and 16 RBIs to 10 of 21 (.476) in the next five games through Saturday. He hit at least one home run in every game, equaling nine others. This marks the longest streak of its kind in franchise history and the longest in the majors since Mike Trout’s seven-game streak in September.
“He’s so dangerous,” said d’Arnaud. “Remember that month last year everything was an auto extra base hit when he wasn’t hunting? It’s something special. It makes our lineup even deadlier than it already is.”
Snitker was asked what Riley’s peak performance meant for a lineup that maintained its MLB-record home run pace even when Riley was down.
“Oh god, he means a lot to our team even if he doesn’t appear like that, just his presence and what he brings,” said Snitker. “And the way he’s going about it is great. But if he can pull it off like that, I know he’s definitely fun to watch.”
Snitker said during Riley’s crisis that he had no qualms and knew he would get out of it. Riley did it spectacularly.
“You always just wait, because it’s going to happen,” Snitker said. “He’s so professional at what he does and his mindset is so solid and strong that if anything happens, he’s the last thing I worry about. Because I’ve seen him far too often over the years.”
In more than a century since RBIs became an official major league statistic in 1920, Riley became the first Braves player to hit at least six homers and 16 RBIs in a five-game span, and he became only the seventh major league player to do so since 2000.
All because he decided to relax figuratively and take things a little slower, literally. His momentum, to be precise.
“We talked about starting a little earlier and a little slower, which helps me slow down the game,” Riley said, explaining that starting his swing a fraction of a second earlier allowed him to retain more control over the swing. “It seemed like I could put myself in a better position to hit the ball better.”
When he’s had crises, Riley now realizes that he falls into a pattern of overthinking and making the situation worse.
“Realistically, you’re not as far off as you think when things aren’t going well,” he said.
He thinks back to something former Brave Freddie Freeman told him years ago.
“I asked him once in Miami after Freddie hit a slider — maybe it was from Pablo López, I’m not sure — but he hit a slider for a home run into right field,” Riley said. “I went up to him and said, ‘Did you sit on it?’ He said, “No, I only saw Spin.” I was like, “Okay.” That was 2019 or 2020, so I was young and I just didn’t want to say another word to him. But I think it shows that the good guys keep it simple. I’m trying really hard to get into it.”
As he recounted what Riley had said about the over-analysis of his swing and pitch selection and everything else—analytical paralysis being the keyword—d’Arnaud shook his head in agreement.
“Yeah, it reminds me of the movie ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall,'” d’Arnaud said, smiling. “He stands on the surfboard and says, ‘Just do less.’ Do less.’ But yeah, that’s a habit for every athlete, I would say they try to do too much. It’s funny, the simplicity of everything kind of brings you back.”
Daysbel deals on debut
With the trade deadline approaching and the injury-plagued Braves needing bullpen help, Hernández could ease that urgency if the Braves believe they can expect Saturday’s level of performance from him. He’s given reason to believe he can, having recorded 17 strikeouts with two walks and just one hit allowed in 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his last five appearances with Triple-A Gwinnett.
Hernández has a 95-98 mph fastball and an excellent slider that he says worked in the double A. He used those pitches to post an impressive 44 percent strikeout rate in Double A’s and Triple A’s this season. Including Saturday, he has batted 20 of his last 27 batters.
“I just remember spring training a few years ago, it was real,” Snitker said of his stuff. “If he hadn’t been hurt, he probably would have been a big part of this bullpen already. But it happened down there (in Triple A), he’s a healthy, big, strong boy. I think his slider is a lot better than I remember it from.”
Hernández came into play in the seventh court and knocked out Victor Caratini in four throws – starting him with two sliders and getting him to throw a down fastball. He then allowed a single from Owen Miller before knocking out Brice Turang in four throws, including a Strike 3 on a foul fastball at the top of the zone.
He beat Blake Perkins on six pitches to end the inning and got him hitting a 96.4 mph fastball at the top of the zone.
“It’s nice to have people with talent in the bullpen,” Snitker said. “It looks like he has a feel for the attacking zone as well.”
The Braves signed the Cuban defector after an open trial in Miami in 2017. Eddie Perez, the former catcher and current Braves coach, was a special assistant in baseball operations when he met Hernández several years ago and predicted he would be in the Atlanta bullpen within a year. That was before Hernández missed the entire 2022 season to recover from Tommy John’s surgery after injuring his elbow following a heavy winter ball workload.
“It was definitely something that I found very difficult during rehab and recovery,” Hernández said through a translator, “and so I feel like it’s also given me an opportunity to prepare and to appreciate the game and what I have and not take it for granted.”
Tehran is still there
In his first-ever start against the Braves, Tehran allowed a leadoff single from Acuña in the first inning, a home run from d’Arnaud in the second, and a double from Michael Harris II in the third. The 12-year veteran walked without success, and after beating Albies in the third round with a pitch and two outs, Tehran retired with the last ten batters he faced.
It was the sixth time he had gone at least six innings in ten starts for Milwaukee, including five good starts. Tehran reduced its ERA to 3.75.
“He’s still in it, man,” Snitker said of the 32-year-old right-hander, who made his debut with the Braves in 2011 at the age of 20. “He moves the ball and knows what he’s doing. good for him Julio is a great guy. He’s done a lot of great things for our organization, so I’m glad he’s still pitching and thriving.”
Tehran was a two-time All-Star, going 77-73 with a 3.67 ERA in nine seasons for the Braves through 2019, including seven straight seasons with at least 30 starts. He has the ninth most wins in the franchise during the Atlanta era.
“He made nasty changes, his slider worked well and his two-seamer,” Albies said. “He doesn’t throw hard, but when things move that way, you can achieve a lot.”
(Photo by Ozzie Albies: Benny Sieu / USA Today)