Austin Riley has joined an exclusive Braves club.
He hit his 20th home run of the season in Thursday’s 7-5 win over the Diamondbacks, a go-ahead three-run blast in the eighth inning. He has hit at least 20 home runs in each of the past three seasons, including 33 in 2021 and 38 in 2022.
Riley is the sixth primary third baseman in franchise history with at least three 20-home run seasons (with at least half their games played at the position each season).
The others: Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews (14 times) and Chipper Jones (12) along with Bob Horner (5), Darrell Evans (3) and Bob Elliott (3).
Should Riley get to 30 home runs, as he has done the past two seasons, the list is reduced to only four players with Mathews (9 times), Jones (6) and Horner (3).
That’s not bad company.
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