All eyes on Riley as Braves host Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are walking right into the middle of Austin Mania.

Atlanta rookie Austin Riley has captivated the fan base with his tremendous start since being promoted from Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday. He has provided instant offense into a lineup that has scuffled at times.

Riley will be starting in left field on Friday for the first game of a three-game series against visiting Milwaukee at SunTrust Park.

The pitching matchup features young Atlanta left-hander Max Fried (5-2, 3.25) against veteran Milwaukee right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (3-4, 4.57).

But most of the Atlanta fans have their focus on Riley. He clubbed a long home run in his second major league at-bat and went 3-for-4 on Thursday with a double -- which missed leaving the yard by a foot -- and an RBI.

"He's amazing. We all know that," said Atlanta pitcher Mike Soroka. "We saw his stats in the minors. I've been growing up with him since we were drafted. It's a lot of fun to watch. I got the tingles when he hit that homer."

Chacin has been on a roll over his last three starts, which has seen him limit opposing hitters to a .186 batting average and record a 1.59 ERA. He has allowed only three runs over 17 innings in his last three starts. In his most recent outing, Chacin gave up two runs, one earned, in six innings in a loss to the Chicago Cubs.

"I feel that everything is getting together now," Chacin said.

Chacin has made seven career starts against Atlanta. He is 2-4 with a 3.69 ERA against the Braves. He last faced the Braves on July 5, 2018, and earned the victory after allowing two runs over seven innings and striking out seven.

Chacin, who made five appearances for the Braves in 2016, has not allowed a home run to any of the current Atlanta roster. But Nick Markakis (.400) has handled him well.

Fried will try to continue his good work. He will be making his ninth start and has enjoyed excellent control, striking out 41 and walking only nine in 44 1/3 innings.

In his last start, Fried worked five innings and allowed three runs, striking out seven. He showed no ill effects from being struck by a line drive on his pitching hand in his May 7 start against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"After the second inning, he got behind the ball and started pounding the zone, attacking guys," Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers said. "That's when we saw the real life on his fastball and true breaking ball dropping in there. He did a good job after that."

Fried made one start against the Brewers last season and absorbed the loss after he allowed four runs in three innings.

Fried will be challenged by Milwaukee's power-packed lineup, led by center fielder Christian Yelich, the reigning National League MVP. Yelich hit two homers on Thursday, his 17th and 18th, in helping the Brewers beat the Phillies.

"I've never seen anybody be this good for this long," said Milwaukee teammate Ryan Braun. "If you go back to the second half last year, we're looking at four or five months of him just being unconscious at the plate."

--Field Level Media