Stripers' Riley rips three hits, plates five

Austin Riley struggled to regain his power stroke after returning from a knee injury in July, but it's safe to say he's back to full strength -- especially after Thursday's performance.
MLB.com's No. 43 prospect went 3-for-5 and drove in five runs in Triple-A Gwinnett's 8-3 victory over Norfolk at Coolray Field and extended his hitting streak to nine games in the process. The five RBIs were his most since he blasted three homers and plated eight against the Tides back in May, and it's the second time in his career he's racked up more than four RBIs.

"I was seeing the ball well, got in some hitter's counts and didn't chase any pitches," Riley said. "And I was able to capitalize on the pitches they left over the plate."
With a 3-0 count in the first inning against right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis, who had just returned from a stint in Baltimore, Riley watched a called strike before singling to center to score Luis Marté with the game's first run. He doubled to left in his next at-bat in the third to give the Stripers a 2-0 lead and came around to score three batters later on Phil Gosselin's single.
Gameday box score
"They've all got to throw it over the plate whether they've been in the big leagues or back in Triple-A," Riley said. "I just watched some film in the clubhouse and knew he had a heavy two-seam and slider to righties, and I saw the slider well -- he went five in a row my first at-bat. Then second at-bat he went all fastballs, but I was able to put some good swings on him."
After a strikeout to end the fourth, Riley came up with no outs and two men on in the seventh against right-hander Jhan Mariñez, who had walked the first two batters of the inning on 10 pitches. Marinez fell behind, 2-0, on Riley but battled back to 2-2 before running the count full. The 21-year-old third baseman ripped that 3-2 pitch over the fence in left field for a three-run homer, extending Gwinnett's lead to 7-3.
"You cant get too big; still 2-0 in a hitter's count, and at that point you want to capitalize on that," Riley said. "I was really honing in on one specific spot [2-0] and fouled it off, battled to 3-2 and was able to get a slider over the plate and get the barrel on it."
Thursday's outburst was the culmination of an impressive stretch from Riley, who began the day batting .323 with three homers during an eight-game hitting streak. The seventh-inning long ball was his sixth in the last 12 games after he went deep just once in his first 33 games following his return to the lineup.
"That span where I was a little cold, I was trying to see things with my swing, trying to [be] shorter to the ball and not miss pitches," Riley said. "This game is so tough as it is that as soon as you start thinking in the box, it goes south quickly. At some point I just said I was going to be as short as I can and make the game as simple as it possibly could be, and I've done that."
Riley's knee sprain was also an issue, as he was placed on the seven-day disabled list June 6 and missed almost a full month of action before returning to play six rehab games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in early July. Despite hitting .278/.409/.611 in that short stretch, there was still work to be done for Riley to get back to where he was earlier in the season.
"I think the biggest thing was trusting that my leg was 100 percent ... and being able to put all my weight on it pressure-wise, whether it's a swing or defense," Riley said. "Just being able to trust that it's 100 percent."
Riley now owns a .283/.352/.474 batting line with 11 homers and 46 RBIs in 71 games at Gwinnett since his May promotion from Double-A Mississippi, where he batted .333/.394/.677 with six long balls and 20 RBIs in 27 games. His August OPS now sits at .936, as he appears to have fully adjusted to the Minors' highest level.

"To me the biggest [difference between levels] would probably be pitch sequence and the mind game inside the game of baseball," Riley said. "Guys up here are more mature and advanced with their stuff. They can throw everything for strikes at just about any time; 2-1, 2-0, you're not getting a heater down the middle every time."
Michael Reed went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and two runs scored, while Marte and Xavier Avery reached base three times apiece, with Marte scoring twice out of the leadoff spot.
Connor Johnstone (2-0) allowed three runs on five hits and one walk over six innings and struck out three.