Braves: Austin Riley’s hot month continues as he surpasses Hank Aaron’s record

The month of July has been a scorcher for Atlanta Braves’ third baseman Austin Riley as he breaks records.

Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley tied and then surpassed a franchise record held by Hank Aaron with a walk-off double Sunday afternoon.

Riley doubled off Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly in the second inning to tie the record for the number of extra-base hits in a month.

Riley then capped off the month with a walk-off double to center field off Mark Melancon surpassing Aaron’s previous record, giving him 26 extra-base hits for the month of July.

Check out the play.

Riley helping Braves down the stretch

The double scored Matt Olson allowing the Braves to have a walk-off victory over the D-backs, 1-0. The win allowed the Braves to sweep the D-Backs. After an 18-8 July, Sunday’s win brings the Braves’ record to 62-41. The Braves are now three games back of the New York Mets in the NL East.

Greg Harvey of Sports-Reference.com tweeted that Austin Riley on Sunday became the seventh player since 1901 to hit .420+ and have 26+ XBH in a single month. Riley is the first to do this since Richard Hidalgo in September 2000. The other 5 are Joe DiMaggio in 1937, Chuck Klein in 1930, Chick Hafey in 1928, Babe Ruth in 1924, and Tris Speaker in 1923. This is an impressive group Riley joins after an amazing month of July.

Braves MLB.com reporter Mark Bowman said Riley’s 1.344 OPS in July ranks as the second-highest mark produced by a Braves player through 90 plate appearances during any month. Chipper Jones had a 1.470 in July 1999, when he won MVP honors.

Through the month of July, Riley is hitting .298/.359/.599 with an OPS of .958, 29 doubles, a triple, and 29 home runs. Riley has 62 runs scored and 67 RBI on the season. With two months remaining in the 2022 season, Riley looks to add to his totals and smash more records, making a case to win NL MVP honors.