Austin Riley was the hero for the Atlanta Braves in a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday night. Riley hit a game-tying home run in the fourth inning and then drilled a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Ozzie Albies.
Albies had the perfect description of Riley and the game-winning play, via ESPN's Bradford Doolittle:
“He's the big boss,” Albies said, while describing his aim in successfully stealing second base to put himself in scoring position for Riley. “Yeah, once I got on, I [said] I'm going [to steal] so I can be in scoring position for Riley. I'm pretty sure; he's been hot. He's going to do the job. No doubt.”
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Riley has certainly been a boss for the Braves this season. After not being all that impressive in his first two MLB seasons, the Braves third baseman broke out in a big way during the 2021 regular season. He hit 33 home runs and drove in 107 runs while posting a slash line of .303/.367/.531.
The 24-year-old's terrific play has extended into the playoffs. After his Game 1 heroics, he now has seven hits in 19 postseason at-bats. He also hit a home run in the four-game NLDS victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Riley and the Braves will try to take a 2-0 series lead in Game 2 of the NLCS on Sunday. Atlanta will send Ian Anderson to the mound to face off against Dodgers ace Max Scherzer, who closed out the NLDS victory over the San Francisco Giants in controversial fashion.
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