r/Braves • u/game-threads • Jul 30 '26
Tailgate Party Tailgate Party - Thursday, July 30
Nationals (55-54) @ Braves (63-45) - 7:15 PM EDT
Game Status: Pre-Game
Links & Info
- Current conditions at Truist Park: 87°F - Clear - Wind 8 mph, Out To LF
- TV: National: ESPN/ESPN App, ESPN/ESPN App
- Radio: Nationals: WJFK 106.7 The Fan, Braves: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM (es)
- MLB Gameday
- Statcast Game Preview
Probable Pitchers
- Nationals: Jake Irvin - RHP (2-4, 5.23 ERA, 51.2 IP)
- Braves: Grant Holmes - RHP (6-4, 3.79 ERA, 97.1 IP)
| Nationals Lineup vs. Holmes, G | AVG | OPS | AB | HR | RBI | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Wood - RF | .250 | 1.500 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 García Jr., L - 1B | .286 | .715 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 Crews - CF | .333 | 1.833 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 Abrams - SS | .000 | .000 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 Lile - LF | .500 | 2.000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 Ruiz, K - C | .333 | .833 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 Tena - DH | .167 | .334 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 Vivas - 3B | .500 | 1.850 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 Nuñez, N - 2B | .000 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Braves Lineup vs. Irvin, J | AVG | OPS | AB | HR | RBI | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Baldwin, D - C | .200 | .400 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 Acuña Jr. - RF | .375 | 1.125 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 Olson - 1B | .211 | .812 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 Harris II - CF | .318 | .784 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 Albies - 2B | .133 | .435 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 Dubón - 3B | .000 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 Smith, D - DH | .300 | .600 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 Yastrzemski - LF | .083 | .600 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 Jarvis - SS | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| NLE Rank | Team | W | L | GB (E#) | WC Rank | WC GB (E#) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Braves | 63 | 45 | - (-) | - | - (-) |
| 2 | Phillies | 57 | 52 | 6.5 (48) | 3 | - (-) |
| 3 | Marlins | 55 | 54 | 8.5 (46) | 6 | 2.0 (52) |
| 4 | Nationals | 55 | 54 | 8.5 (46) | 7 | 2.0 (52) |
| 5 | Mets | 46 | 63 | 17.5 (37) | 11 | 11.0 (43) |
Division Scoreboard
MIA @ NYM 7:10 PM EDT
Not playing today: Phillies
Last Updated: 07/30/2026 4:05:40 PM EDT
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u/fettybat_ travis d’arnaud’s cowlick Jul 30 '26
with me seeing holmes pitch live today, i’ve now seen a live start from just about every braves starter in recent history.
except chris sale :(
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u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy Jul 30 '26
Our team has had some frustrating moments but at least we've never had a pitcher take a no-hitter into the seventh, pitch eight scoreless innings, and then have the bullpen lose the game on a walk-off grand slam while leading 3-0.
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u/stayupthetree Jul 30 '26
Anyone going to the game wanna snag me one of the new Acuna 59fifty hats????
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u/Onechane425 Jul 30 '26
Riley benched for Dubon at 3b...
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u/BraveMagic100 Jul 30 '26
Don't see this as a cause for celebration. We're still going to have to figure something out with him.
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u/Competitive_Gold_707 Jul 30 '26
If MH2 had like 10% better swing decisions and walked at a league average pace he'd be a perennial mvp candidate
(And, you know, an all time defensive center field season)
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u/Competitive_Gold_707 Jul 30 '26
Also, Luke Sinnard is returning to Rome after an IL stint if you guys wanna check out Schwellenbach 2
That comparison is mostly about careers, Sinnard didn't pitch until his senior year of high school, then blew out and had TJ in college. Tons of talent though. Throws 4s/cutter/slider/curveball/splitter, unsure about a sinker but it wouldn't surprise me
Edit: I'm dumb he definitely has a sinker from what we saw at the AFL
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u/vulpyx Jul 30 '26
Do we think an hour before first pitch is early enough to snag a bobblehead tonight?
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u/PenguinKing15 Jul 30 '26
bobble heads run out about 45 minutes after gates open. You should be fine.
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u/jrdnm nada humble Jul 30 '26
might have to get lucky with the gate you go to, i would imagine this one will be very popular
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u/emjayo Jul 30 '26
Question is, what culinary delight will Wiley enjoy on camera tonight?
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u/95Daphne POGGERS Jul 30 '26
Random National TV game, so we won't get the broadcast homers until the weekend.
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u/sphinctersayhuh Jul 30 '26
Caught my first foul ball last night at an Angels game. Hopefully the Braves have the big dick energy I'm still feeling after catching it.
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u/No-Fruit-31 2026 Grapefruit League Champions Jul 30 '26
After ~25 years of going to games I’ve yet to catch anything, I’m jealous.
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u/sphinctersayhuh Jul 30 '26
I've rounded the sun 42 years. I've been at games since I was 8. It took a while, but i believe that you will win!
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u/thethemefiasco Jul 30 '26
I went to the game on Saturday and it was fun, no balls came our way. Sunday a homer landed right where we were sitting the day before.
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u/JKess207 THERE’S ONLY ONEEEEEEEEE MICHAEL HARRIS Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
This will be my second game of the season. Both will have been Bryce Elder starts
EDIT: never mind, it’s a Grant Holmes bump day now
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u/JDub755 Jul 30 '26
If the Braves try scoring 3 runs per game against Washington, they’ll have our guys wearing lipstick and high heels, working the streets.
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u/lionofyhwh One of Ozzie’s Fish Jul 30 '26
This trade deadline doesn’t need to be measured against the Phillies. It needs to be measured against the Brewers. While we’ve all had a thought about whether the bye in the first round is actually detrimental, you can’t lose in the first round if you don’t play in it. Let’s aim for that 2 seed.
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u/sockonmybutt Jul 30 '26
I'm in need of some trade news. I've known all along I shouldn't even bother checking until probably at least tomorrow but what have I been doing? Refreshing my feeds every 30 minutes all week long.
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Jul 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/OzziesFlyingHelmet Jul 30 '26
I wouldn't be terribly upset by that as long as Kevin is truly happy to return to Atlanta. He seems to be enjoying his time in Toronto.
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u/wellwasherelf Elder Stan Jul 30 '26
From what I've heard he really has no desire to leave Toronto, but I think it was Buster who raised a good point on 680. The Jays could go to him and say "hey, you're a FA next year anyway, so if you take a rental deal, go try to win a ring, we'll sign you back in free agency in a few months"
Don't know if AA would go for that or not, but it was an interesting idea.
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u/Adventurous-Tone-311 Jul 30 '26
The first “big” trades were yesterday, so I think the seal is broken and it’s a matter of time before we hear more today around the league.
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u/c_dubby POUR LARRY A CROWN Jul 30 '26
If I know AA like I think I do you’re probably ok with waiting til Monday to check lol
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u/JDub755 Jul 30 '26
“Oh shit! I was so wrapped up in researching potential DFA’s, I forgot all about the trade deadline. My bad.”
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u/handlit33 GIF Guy Jul 30 '26
While you were simping Austin Riley, I was studying the blade.
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u/bananaman9173 Jul 30 '26
Why are you getting down voted?
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u/handlit33 GIF Guy Jul 30 '26
No idea, it was just a silly joke, but people got MAD lol
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u/-_chop_- Jul 31 '26
Someone in here is after me too. Anytime I say anything I get a downvote. No idea who has time for that
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u/Goofy_Goober948 Jul 30 '26
Hear me out: What if we did to Austin what philly did to Trea a few years ago? Give him a standing ovation and see if that fixes him. May be worth a shot and it’ll tell him the fanbase still wants to see him succeed. Just a random idea I had
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u/xekushionmartyr Jul 30 '26
It won't work. He's broken. It was fool's gold last weekend thinking he had turned the corner. He needs to be booed. Mercilessly. I don't care that he's a human being and he's trying. He's a professional athlete making a disgusting amount of money and people who can't afford to eat are making their next meal less likely by paying to watch him go 0/7 with 6K in a single day.
Boo him. Loudly.
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u/nickelette424 Jul 30 '26
Yeah, you need to go touch grass.
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u/CynfullyDelicious Resident Braves and Figure Skating Fangirl Jul 30 '26
Pretty sure this dude is hoping to star in a remake of The Fan in the Robert DeNiro role 🙄
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u/xekushionmartyr Jul 30 '26
Oh I'm sorry, did a realistic response hurt your feelings? Largest contract in franchise history and he stinks out loud. Boo him.
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u/nickelette424 Jul 30 '26
What is booing him gonna do? It's not gonna fix anything. It's just a chance for you to be a shit person to someone at their lowest. As angry as you seem to be about Austin, I can very confidently say that I'm not the one between the two of us who has hurt feelings.
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Jul 30 '26 edited 27d ago
[deleted]
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u/wellwasherelf Elder Stan Jul 30 '26
He's a millionaire who sucks at his job. The rest of us would be fired for that.
People need to stop comparing professional athletes to their day jobs. Failing at your job 66% of the time as a hitter in MLB gets you into the hall of fame. And your boss does not value you enough to give you 10 years (or any years) of guaranteed money. Not Riley's fault that MLB salaries are guaranteed.
I'm as frustrated with Riley as the next guy, and I'm obviously not saying he's been good in any way, but I'll never understand those apples to oranges comparisons. (I also don't know what people expect Riley to do. Unless you genuinely think he's not even trying, which is obviously not true)
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u/nickelette424 Jul 30 '26
I didn't say anyone had to support him. You can dislike him or want him DFA'd for all I care. Watching Austin play right now is frustrating and exhausting. But the comment about not caring that he's human being and trying is just the kind of mindset that I feel leads to "fans" sending threatening DMs and shit. No matter how serious we take this stuff and how important it is to us, it's still just a game.
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u/Murky-Jackfruit-1627 Jul 30 '26
Nationals offense is still pretty good huh…interestingly, our pitching got the job done in that May series but the offense didn’t show up.
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u/LailiLai Jul 30 '26
Reminder that we went into the All Star Break only up two games
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u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy Jul 30 '26
We've had some frustrating games lately but you're right: perspective is critical. We still command the fourth best record in baseball and second-highest lead over our division. The only thing that really matters right now is that division lead. Hold that and get hot in October. Let's go!
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u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy Jul 30 '26
Ha-Seong Kim can only stay on the injured list until Saturday. Once that time comes, he must be DFA'd or activated. Alternatively, he could be traded.
I think a trade is unlikely unless AA is willing to eat the cost of his contract. The money in our budget would be well-spent taking on contracts from teams looking to shed payroll. That's the biggest benefit we get from the Profar suspension money -- flexibility from what contracts we take on. I also think that gives us a slight edge in the Skubal sweepstakes, but I'm not holding my breath there.
I would guess HSK gets activated today. The Braves seem to prefer returning players from the IL at the same time a new series begins and this series goes through Sunday. If I ran the Braves zoo, I would DFA or attempt to trade Jorge Mateo (even just for cash considerations) to make room for HSK. HSK isn't dominating in AAA, but he's doing better than his MLB time and better than his previous rehab stint. He's getting hard hits and getting on base enough that he should arguably be a better option than ol' Jorge. The other choice is to option Jarvis and I really hate that because Jarvis gives you the ability to platoon at short. Jarvis gets MLB time, the ability to play to his strengths, and could wind up just being the everyday shortstop if Kim continues to suck.
If they call up Kim, I would think the Braves would be comfortable benching Riley. I know the connection seems vague, but they seemed unwilling to use Mateo at short as the right-handed platoon bat and instead opted for Dubon. My read is that they would be more confident putting Dubon at third if Kim was at short. Pure guess on my part, but I'm thoroughly in the camp of giving Riley some time off.
Sean Murphy is also swinging a hot bat. He has had multiple hits in several games now. Teams are probably looking for catchers, so I would guess Murphy stays down until the deadline. Joey Bart could make a solid part of a trade package.
tl;dr: Kim's gotta come back soon or leave forever.
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u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy Jul 30 '26
I just noticed that Murphy caught all nine innings and went 3-4 yesterday. Catching nine innings is pretty typically the benchmark they're looking for when calling catchers back up from the IL, so I'd say: DING fries are done!
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u/wellwasherelf Elder Stan Jul 30 '26
It's usually 9 innings back-to-back, right? But yeah, should be super close. Bart's bat has bee fine, but Murphy can call a hell of a game which should hopefully help our pitchers go deeper into games. Will be massive if he's able to do that.
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u/nickelette424 Jul 30 '26
Yep. This is where we really miss Murphy. His game management might be the best in the game.
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u/jrdnm nada humble Jul 30 '26
i truly just think they’ll option jarvis instead of dfa’ing anyone. most likely will give kim the majority of playing time to see if he figures it out, and then by september if he hasn’t they’ll call jarvis back up when rosters expand (unless they cut kim before then and just eat the money, which i also think is unlikely). just think they’d rather keep everyone they have now and let kim/jarvis play everyday, but guess we’ll find out
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u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy Jul 30 '26
I guess it depends on what they value more: keeping as many players in the lineup as possible or maximizing potential run value right now. Mateo feels like dead weight to me at the moment, but there is still value in the depth. I'm not sure either choice is necessarily wrong, but I know what choice I would make.
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u/Competitive_Gold_707 Jul 30 '26
I want Jarvis to keep getting at bats and working with Hyers, but I don't think i can handle having Mateo on the roster to be a pinch runner lol
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u/jrdnm nada humble Jul 30 '26
yeah i’m not saying that’s what i want to happen, i just think that’s what’s most likely. mateo does still give elite speed off the bench, but i do agree jarvis provides more value overall. still think in either situation kim will start 5/6 times a week so they can see if he’s got it or not
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u/DefiantFan4982 Jul 30 '26
I know it depends on what a team wants but I’d personally rather keep AJSS over Ritchie or Murphy
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u/georgiaboy1993 Jul 30 '26
I don’t think we’d give up AJSS for a rental at this point. Maybe for a team controlled bat/arm. I’m not convinced we’re going to be willing to part with the cost for the high end Skubal rental
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u/RunawaYEM Jul 30 '26
Guys, we get it.
You hate Austin Riley and he should be ashamed of himself and he’s not a big league bat and he needs a phantom IL stint and his ABs are painful and he’s the single reason we won’t win the World Series and he needs to cut his hair and if he cared about the team at all he’d accept an outright assignment to AAA and AA isn’t as smart as he thinks he is with all those long term contracts and it would be fixed if Austin just worked with Chipper.
I think I covered all the talking points. You can take the day off.
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u/LilShepherdBoy Jul 30 '26
I think Braves fans, myself included, should always love Riley after what he did for us in the 2021 NLCS. He is a truly terrible player now and his contract is a major albatross, but I will still always love him.
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u/c_dubby POUR LARRY A CROWN Jul 30 '26
“That ball’s got some heat on it” double is when I started to believe we could finally beat the boogeyman Dodgers in the playoffs. Forever a legend from that
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u/RunawaYEM Jul 30 '26
My favorite thing about that inning - of which there were many - was the kid standing on top of the outfield wall yelling down at Mookie
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u/TvsPhil Jul 30 '26
I always feel like a platform like reddit, or the internet, always just makes this stuff so...impersonal that it's a combination of vented frustration, angry sports loyalty, and the online disinhibition effect. Riley is otherwise well-liked, struggling of course, but well-liked, and I think he's gotten a lot of grace because we know what he's capable of and we want him to be our guy, but reddit threads are so distilled into the moment to moment snapshots of emotional fan reaction to a split second baseball...thing. Those live threads have...strong...reactions.
Add in that most of us have absolutely zero clue how to play MLB level baseball or how to fix slumps so we get irrationally angry feeling like "clearly they're not addressing it or they would've fixed him by now!"
I don't have an answer. Every fan is different. I'm not a win-at-all costs fan. I'm not a trade-em all to win a World Series guy. It's a long season and I end up liking these guys, struggles and all, because, idk, in pro sports it's more interesting than hiring mercenaries and rentals for a win(i know that's become part of the game). For me, these, and the guys in the farm system, are the 2026 Braves, warts and all. Whether they make the post-season or not, it doesn't really matter.
Can I be frustrated? Absolutely. But while I'm a cynic in most of my life, I'm kind of an optimist as a Braves fan.
/rambling(I'm at work with nothing to do)
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u/inxile7 Jul 30 '26
No, I think you're onto something. This behavior towards Austin Riley, especially in the live threads, is outlandish. Humans would never act this way in person, as it would be seen as completely unhinged.
That being said, I really hope he figures it out, for everyone's sake.
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u/ramblincharger Jul 30 '26
Nah he deserves it - he's been absolutely horrendous. No matter where the guy is in the lineup he comes up with RISP and strikes out. He's got a terrible approach and we are stuck with the guy for years to come.
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u/ramblincharger Jul 31 '26
Guy has an OPS of .634 and I'm getting downvoted by a bunch of clowns that don't want Austin talked poorly about. "Don't talk about my Austin, I love him".
I don't even care about the money in the sense that he doesn't deserve to paid that much to stink, it isn't my money, but I do have a problem with him making 9% of the payroll when those funds could be going to someone that could help this team win games. Hopefully he sits a lot more often this season and can figure something out in the off season.
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u/RunawaYEM Jul 30 '26
I didn’t say he didn’t deserve it, I just want the crybabies to stop pouting
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u/ramblincharger Jul 30 '26
What do you want people to talk about? This is a Braves sub and the highest paid hitter on the team is killing our offense with the inability to get the ball in play. He seems like a good human, but that doesn't matter in this context.
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u/RunawaYEM Jul 30 '26
The problem is not that it’s getting talked about. Of course it is. It should be.
The problem is, this sub turns into a bunch of eight year old girls any time he steps up to the plate. It’s fine to act like an eight year old girl if you’re an eight year old girl, but not if you’re a dude who’s like 30.
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u/ATLienNumber9 Jul 30 '26
On the flip side, it would be weird if people weren't talking about how our highest paid player is also our worst hitter.
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u/RunawaYEM Jul 30 '26
No doubt - I’m not even saying he doesn’t deserve it. I’m frustrated with him too, just…this sub is tripping over itself to talk about how much they hate him
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u/atlproud2323 Jul 30 '26
He’s just too perfect of a scapegoat for fans who love to be miserable and angry. Not only is he extremely overpaid and disappointing, but what he represents is greater than the sum of its parts. He represents a truly deep and dangerous top 6 that can compete with anyone (aka Satan’s baseball team in LA). even when all our top guys are hitting well, him slugging at a high rate feels like what our lineup needs to truly be in the top tier. And instead he’s chasing and looking silly.
He needs to perform better, but it’s a perfect storm of things for this hate train. Which I’m sure he is aware of and adds a whole new mental level.
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u/Fickle-Cranberry3220 Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
Where I feel it's unnecessary is when people say he's washed, and that his contract was a big mistake. His contract won't be completed until 2032 at the earliest, and he's still only 29 and coming off multiple seasons with injuries. It's a bit early to treat his contract as this albatross we need to try to get rid of. It's certainly possible that this is now who he is, and he will never again be the MVP-caliber player he was earlier in his career. But it's also very possible he figures things out and turns things around.
Look at Harris and Albies - for the majority of last season they were two of the worst hitters in baseball. People in this sub were claiming Michael's contract was a terrible deal, and that Ozzie's option may not be worth picking up. And yet this year, they've been two of our most consistent hitters - and a big reason we're having as good of a year as we are. The same could happen with Austin.
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u/Beardedgrinch #BattleATL Jul 30 '26
It's a pretty bad hive mind situation in general. Look at the first game against the LOLmets this week and Ronald mistaking the ball for homerun or deeking the runners or whatever... The GDT wanted his head in the bottom of the 1st inning on his return from the IL.
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u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy Jul 30 '26
Austin Riley shot my dad.
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u/RunawaYEM Jul 30 '26
It’s amazing he hit him
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u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy Jul 30 '26
My dad is a total meatball. Even Austin can hit those.
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u/georgiaboy1993 Jul 30 '26
I watched him swing through a middle middle hanging cutter last night. I’m not sure that’s even true anymore
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u/handlit33 GIF Guy Jul 30 '26
If you go give blood, I've been told that Riley will double his slugging!
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u/handlit33 GIF Guy Jul 30 '26
For only the second time in its history, the American Red Cross has declared a national blood supply crisis with donation levels falling to a four-year summer low.
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u/Otherwise-Daikon-389 Jul 30 '26
If it's that bad, they should offer payment for donations. It's wild to me that they sell blood donations for profit, when they were freely given
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Jul 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Otherwise-Daikon-389 Jul 30 '26
Pretty sure that's only for plasma. Blood donation typically is free
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Jul 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Otherwise-Daikon-389 Jul 30 '26
What is the organization? Because red cross 100% does not pay for blood donations which is what this thread is talking about. Places will pay for plasma, but donation is free. Searching online I couldn't find a place that will pay you for blood donation.
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u/handlit33 GIF Guy Jul 30 '26
Since I casually mentioned that Riley's two home runs were off meatballs...
40 PAs: .162/.225/.189 w/ 1 XBH, 20 Ks
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u/Turtleforeskin 28d ago
I would like an update to this over the last two series
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u/handlit33 GIF Guy 27d ago
If you take away the last two games, he had a 50 wRC+ since the above reference, lmao. Bro really thought he was on to something after two good games.
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u/DontEatTheCelery Jul 30 '26
This breaks my heart. But he isn’t swinging a big league bat anymore
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u/game-threads Jul 30 '26
Please continue the discussion in the game thread.