In yet another bit of news no one wants to hear, the Atlanta Braves saw a new injury pop-up in game one versus the Cardinals. The victim is star third baseman Austin Riley who was pulled after the third inning of the series opener in St. Louis with what the team labeled as lower abdominal tightness.
Riley looked fine earlier in the game when he singled home a run in the first inning, but just a couple innings later Luke Williams was batting in his place in the lineup. As of now there has been no update on whether or not the injury could keep him out the lineup for game two.
Ronnie + Riley = Braves on the board first!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/UeNDIv8W0N
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 12, 2025
Riley's injury could be the final nail in the Braves coffin
Abdominal injuries aren't common, but if this is something that lingers at all the Braves will be searching frantically for answers at third base. Unfortunately, Riley has missed a decent chunk of time in his career thus far given his injury history. Of course last season was the toughest as far as durability goes.
It's really tough timing for Riley as he had began showing signs of life at the plate recently. The season numbers still aren't ideal, but his .441 slugging percentage and 113 wRC+ were trending in the right direction. For the month of July he is sporting a .915 OPS and 152 wRC+. The Braves bats have been a bit better lately, but Riley heating up was a big part of that.
However, he did luck out on timing with the schedule as the Braves have just two games remaining until the All-Star break. Resting Riley (who has played in every game this season) for the final two games in St. Louis plus the week of the All-Star break would be a nice extended vacation for Riley. It would make sense especially if the abdominal injury isn't one that's deemed worthy of a stint on the injured list, and we will keep our fingers crossed that's the case. As the season goes on and injuries keep piling up it feels more and more like our attention needs to shift towards the draft and how Anthopoulos will navigate the upcoming offseason.