Braves' Austin Riley leaves Grapefruit League game after pitch hits him in the right hand

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley left a Grapefruit League game Friday after a pitch hit him in the hand that he broke last season.

Riley got hit by a pitch from Jackson Rutledge in the first inning of the Braves’ game with the Washington Nationals. Riley held out his right hand immediately afterward in apparent pain before heading up the first base line.

Riley was removed when the Braves took the field in the top of the second inning.

The Braves announced that the two-time All-Star had been taken out of the game “as a precaution.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and MLB.com reported that X-rays were negative.

Riley, who turns 28 on April 2, batted .256 with a .322 on-base percentage, 19 homers and 56 RBIs last year. His season ended after he was hit in the right hand by a 97 mph fastball from Los Angeles Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz. An MRI revealed his hand was fractured.

Riley finished seventh in the MVP balloting in 2021, sixth in 2022 and seventh again in 2023. He hit at least 33 homers in each of those seasons.

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