Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider made history and his season debut on Wednesday in a loss against the Toronto Blue Jays (TOR 3, ATL 1), delivering five innings in what also served as his first appearance since missing almost the entirety of the 2024 campaign after undergoing elbow surgery last April.
Strider surrendered two runs on a walk and five hits, including a solo home run he yielded to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the closing moments of his outing. He struck out five of the 21 batters he faced, giving him 500 for his career. In addition to being a round number, that’s a notable achievement since it made him the quickest primary starter to that mark. Here’s the full top five:
- Spencer Strider: 334 IP
- Freddy Peralta: 372 IP
- Shohei Ohtani: 388 ⅔ IP
- Tyler Glasnow: 398 ⅓ IP
- Dylan Cease: 399 ⅓ IP
After the game, Strider suggested he wasn’t particularly impressed with himself or his accomplishment.
“My job isn’t to come back and have a moment and all that,” Strider told reporters. “That’s not how I look at it. I’m here to help the team.”
Strider generated 13 swinging strikes on the afternoon, with 12 of those coming on either his fastball or his slider. His fastball averaged 95 mph — or, about a tick slower than it did last time he took a MLB mound. On the positive side, Strider did register more spin and induced vertical break on the heater, two elements that should offset the velocity loss.
Strider, 26, had established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball prior to his injury. In 67 career appearances (54 of them starts) entering Wednesday, he had amassed a 3.47 ERA (123 ERA+) and a 4.54 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He had finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting back in 2023, winning 20 games and recording 281 strikeouts in just 186 ⅔ innings of work.
The Braves could use more dominance from Strider if they’re going to course-correct. Atlanta’s loss on Wednesday left the club with a disappointing 5-13 record on the young season.
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