Third baseman Riley continues to enjoy success at Citi Field

A couple of hours before Travis d’arnaud’s two-run double sealed a series-opening victory over the Mets on Monday, another Brave continued an impressive trend at Citi Field.

In 75 at-bats at Citi Field, Austin Riley has homered nine times — his most home runs at any ballpark not named Truist Park. Over 21 games in Queens, Riley has a 1.047 on-base plus slugging percentage. He has a higher OPS at only three stadiums (Chase Field in Arizona, Coors Field in Colorado, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx).

Why is he so good at Citi Field? “I don’t know,” Riley said before Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Mets. “That’s a good question.”

He immediately added: “I don’t know if it’s just something — the lighting, background, batter’s eye. Some places you go, like in Miami, (the pitcher) feels like he’s right on top of you, like he’s right there on you. You just got to take everything — surroundings, everything. I feel like I just see spin well here and pick it up just better than other places.”

This leads into an interesting topic. Basketball and football stadiums can be

unique in their own ways, but a hoop is always 10 feet tall and a football field always spans 100 yards. In baseball, ballparks’ features can affect players’ performances. Hitters sometimes prefer playing at one ballpark over another. There are tons of reasons for this.

“I definitely agree with that,” Riley said. “Just a lot of factors that can play in, whether it’s a dome or lighting or the way the arm angle is for a background. There’s different stuff that goes into account.”

Waters HRS in season debut at Triple-a

Outfielder Drew Waters announced his return in a big way: He homered in the first at-bat of his season debut for Triple-a Gwinnett.

Waters had been on the injured list with the same hamstring injury that forced the Braves to scratch him from their lineup March 20, their third Grapefruit League game. In three rehab games with High-a Rome before returning to Gwinnett, Waters went 4-for-11 with a double, a homer, two

RBIS and five runs.

Reliever Jansen continues to roll

Monday’s save was Kenley Jansen’s seventh in seven tries this season. His 24 consecutive saves is tied for the longest active streak in the majors.

Since allowing three runs in his Braves debut April 8, Jansen has allowed one hit over nine scoreless innings. He closed April with eight hitless innings. He has 12 strikeouts in his past nine innings.

FRANK FRANKLIN II/AP Braves third baseman Austin Riley hits a home run Monday during the fourth inning against the Mets. In 75 at-bats at Citi Field, Riley has nine home runs.