Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Julio Teheran delivers to a St. Louis Cardinals batter in the first inning Thursday night at SunTrust Park.
ATLANTA - Austin Riley's MLB career is just getting started, and Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker likes where it's headed.
"I love everything about what he's doing," Snitker said. "He's in a good place offensively. He's confident, and rightly so from where he came from and what he's doing. He's just carrying it over."
Riley went 3-for-4 and drove in a run, Julio Teheran pitched five-plus scoreless innings and the Braves won for the fifth time in six games with a 10-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
Riley, who on Wednesday homered in his second at-bat in the major leagues, doubled off the top of the wall in the second inning and singled in a run in the third. He scored twice.
He's hitting .407 with 32 RBIs over his past 20 games between Atlanta and Triple-A Gwinnett.
"Coming into this, I told myself, 'Same game, got to have the same approach, go up there with a plan, not just free swinging,'" Riley said. "I think I stuck to that pretty well."
Teheran (3-4) allowed two hits - a bloop single by Yadier Molina to begin the fifth and a single by Paul Goldschmidt to begin the sixth - and drove in two runs with a sacrifice bunt in the second and a single in the third. Teheran, who has a 0.53 ERA over his past three starts, had four strikeouts and as many walks.
"I feel like the way I believe I've been pitching lately - I guess it's been five starts - I've really been feeling the way I like to feel," Teheran said. "I feel like I can throw my pitches in any counts and my command - I walk guys, but that's part of the game. I really like the way I've been feeling."
Nick Markakis had an RBI double in the three-run third as Atlanta took a 5-0 lead.
The Braves, who never trailed, took the lead in the second. Markakis walked, advanced to third on Riley's double and crossed the plate on Brian McCann's sacrifice fly. Riley scored from third on Teheran's bunt.
Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (3-4) gave up five runs, five hits and five walks with two strikeouts in four innings.
"It's the worst fastball command I've had all year," Wainwright said. "I actually had a good fastball, but I just didn't locate it worth a darn, and worst breaking ball I've had all year. Bad combo."
Marcel Ozuna's 13th homer of the season, off Jacob Webb, cut the lead to 5-1 in the sixth. Matt Carpenter homered off Touki Toussaint to make it 9-2 in the eighth.
Atlanta went up 8-1 in the bottom of the sixth on RBI singles by Freddie Freeman, Josh Donaldson and Markakis. Ronald Acuna Jr.'s RBI single in the seventh made it 9-1, and Freeman hit his eighth homer of the season in the eighth.
Snitker said right-handed pitcher Mike Foltynewicz will make his next start even though he's 0-3 with an 8.02 ERA in four starts this year. A first-time All-Star last year, Foltynewicz threw a bullpen session Thursday as pitching coach Rick Kranitz and bullpen coach Marty Reed began adjusting his mechanics.
"They identified some things on tape and saw some things that maybe can help him," Snitker said.
Foltynewicz, whose season started late because of a right elbow bone spur, will face the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
That three-game series starts Friday at SunTrust Park with left-hander Max Fried (5-2, 3.25) taking the mound for Atlanta in his ninth start this season. Fried lasted three innings in his only start against Milwaukee, giving up four runs on four hits and three walks in three innings last July 7.