{"id":48885,"date":"2025-04-17T07:44:53","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T07:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=48885"},"modified":"2025-04-17T07:44:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T07:44:53","slug":"so-amazing-spencer-strider-impresses-in-return-from-injury-but-braves-strike-out-19-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=48885","title":{"rendered":"SO AMAZING!! Spencer Strider impresses in return from injury, but Braves strike out 19 times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Spencer Strider impresses in return from injury, but Braves strike out 19 times<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
The right-hander made his first big league appearance in 376 days<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider (99) throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter in the first inning of an interleague baseball game in Toronto, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Jon Blacker \/ The Canadian Press via AP)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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TORONTO \u2014 Braves right-hander Spencer Strider allowed two runs and five hits in five-plus innings in his return to the mound against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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Making his first big league appearance in 376 days because of\u00a0surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Strider struck out five, walked one, and hit a batter. He threw 97 pitches, 58 for strikes, but the Braves\u2019 bats struggled in a 3-1 Blue Jays victory.<\/p>\n

The Braves were scoreless until Drake Baldwin\u2019s one-out solo home run in the ninth inning. Strikeouts plagued the Braves lineup, with Blue Jays pitchers recording 19 strikeouts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two of the five hits off Strider, including an RBI single in the third inning and a solo home run in the sixth. The homer was Guerrero\u2019s first.<\/p>\n

Strider followed that by walking Anthony Santander. Manager Brian Snitker responded by replacing Strider with left-hander Dylan Lee.<\/p>\n

Strider struck out Bo Bichette on three pitches to begin the game. He threw his hardest pitch of the afternoon, a 98 mph fastball, to Guerrero in the first.<\/p>\n

Strider struck out Myles Straw to strand runners at second and third to end the second.<\/p>\n

Bichette doubled to begin the third, and Guerrero followed with a ground-ball single to center to drive in the game\u2019s first run.<\/p>\n

Guerrero homered into the second deck on a full-count slider in the sixth, a 412-foot drive.<\/p>\n

The Braves\u00a0activated Strider off the injured list Wednesday morning\u00a0and optioned right-handed reliever Zach Thompson to Triple-A.<\/p>\n

Strider struck out 13 in 5\u2153 innings in a\u00a0dominant rehab start at Triple-A Gwinnett on April 10, allowing one run and three hits. He threw 90 pitches, 62 for strikes, and reached 97 mph with his fastball.<\/p>\n

The Braves are off to a slow start, and the return of Strider could provide a big lift. He went 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 2023, finishing with a major league-best 281 strikeouts in 186\u2154 innings and placing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting.<\/p>\n

Strider, 26, last appeared in the majors on April 5, 2024, against the Diamondbacks in Atlanta. He made two starts last season before undergoing surgery.<\/p>\n

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Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider (99) throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter in first inning baseball action in Toronto on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Jon Blacker \/ The Canadian Press via AP)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Atlanta<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider (99) throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter in the first inning of an interleague baseball game in Toronto, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Jon Blacker \/ The Canadian Press via AP)<\/div>\n