Austin Riley hits two 450-foot homers in Atlanta
By Mark Bowman | 10:21 p.m. EDT
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ATLANTA — Austin Riley has been heating up in recent days, then exploded at a thunderous pace on Thursday night as the Braves clinched an 8-5 win over the Phillies at Truist Park.
Riley stole the limelight with two monstrous home runs, but a string of Braves added to the crucial three-run eighth. Marcell Ozuna, who hit a home run in the second inning, doubled before hitting with Travis d’Arnaud’s green two-run single. Matt Olson’s sacrificial flight made for an insurance run.
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Any lingering concerns about Riley’s recent month-long slip probably evaporated when he hit two of the longest home runs of his career in that series opener. The Braves third baseman hit a 459-foot home run on Aaron Nola in the first inning and then damaged the Phillies veteran with a 458-foot solo shot in the fifth inning.
Riley is the third player to hit two 455-foot homers in a game since Statcast began collecting this data in 2015. The others were Trevor Story (September 5, 2018) and Willson Contreras (September 13, 2019). Charlie Blackmon (May 12, 2019) is the only other player to hit two homers over 450 feet in a game. Blackmon and Story both did so at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
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These were the third and fourth longest home runs Riley ever hit. On April 3, in St. Louis, he hit a 473-foot home run that lasted his entire career.
Riley’s first two-home game of the year and fifth of his career underpinned his recent success. He’s hit four doubles and two homers in his last four games (14 at-bats).
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