Chris Sale's hilarious advice to Austin Riley paid off on Braves walk-off hit

While the Braves have once again established themselves as one of the best teams in the National League to open the 2024 season, some of their familiar stars have yet to really get things going. Matt Olson and Austin Riley, in particular, have struggled at the plate in April. As the calendar turns to May, however, Riley has finally seen some payoff.

Riley and the Braves secured a series victory over the red-hot Cleveland Guardians on Sunday with a walk-off single by Riley.

What makes this Braves team so scary is the fact that few of their star players are performing up to expectations. Yet, Atlanta still sits atop the National League East. These Braves aren't afraid to acknowledge their early-season woes at the plate. If anything, they've attacked it head-on.

“(Olson) and Riley both, the mechanics are a little out of whack,” Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said, per The Athletic ($). “Ronnie’s not synced up the way he was last year. Not yet. I felt like, probably for our last five days, (Acuña) is getting close. But Matt and Austin have been working with some mechanical adjustments that we’ve seen some differences from when they’re going well.”

Just imagine what this group will look like once all the gears turn at the same time.

Chris Sale offers up funny advice for Austin Riley before Braves walk-off win

After Riley was mobbed by his teammates, he did a quick interview hit with Bally Sports Atlanta. Riley credited a strange source for his approach at the plate on that final at-bat -- Atlanta starting pitcher Chris Sale.

As Riley mentioned, Sale told him to take a little something off the next time he puts the ball in play. As un-serious as that advice may be, the exit velocity on his game-winning single doesn't compare to several balls Riley has put in play this series which were recorded as outs.

In 2023, the Braves led the majors in first-inning runs. So far this season, they've been the comeback kids, with 62 runs scored in the seventh inning or later. Riley continued that trend on Sunday.