When it was revealed that Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley needed to leave Sunday's game against the Mets due to tightness in his side, Braves fans were understandably concerned. Even though the team's announcement came with the "just a precaution" qualifier, Riley just isn't the kind of guy that gets pulled from games often and that he couldn't play through it was true cause for concern.
When Braves manager Brian Snitker revealed before Monday's matchup against the Cubs that Riley was still sore and was going to get a MRI, the mild concern was ratcheted up quite a bit. Snitker didn't hint at a possible IL stint for Riley, but instead insisted on waiting on sharing anything more until the team got a chance to review the results and would reveal more after the game.
Well, the end of the Braves' game against the Cubs did come with Atlanta emerging victorious by the score of 2-0. On top of winning what was a tough game with Shota Imanaga on the mound for Chicago, Snitker had good news about Austin Riley as he only has inflammation in his side and is day
Braves News: Austin Riley day-to-day after injury scare, could play later this week
This is as close to a perfect outcome that the Braves could have probably hoped for given the situation. Very often, these sorts of side injuries that linger into the next day end up being oblique injuries which can take a long time to heal. One need only look at how long it is taking Sean Murphy to get back on the field as evidence of that.
Based on Snitker's comments, it doesn't look like Riley will need to go on the injured list and could be back playing in the field later this week. Atlanta is going to be cautious with their star third baseman and there is certainly a chance that he has a setback, but it appears that he and the team dodged a bullet with this particular ailment.
In the meantime, it looks like the newly acquired Zack Short is going to be getting some playing time at third base with Riley out. Short played a pretty important role in last night's win over the Cubs as he drove in the Braves' first run. As long as he can hold down the fort for a few days, that will be more than enough.