Spencer Strider, the Atlanta Braves fireballer just 369 days removed from undergoing his second Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery, was back on a major league mound – and making strikeout history once again.
Strider became the fastest starting pitcher to 500 career strikeouts Wednesday when he punched out Addison Barger in the fifth inning, and pitched into the sixth, showing much of the arsenal that made him one of the game’s most dynamic performers on the mound before his right elbow failed him again.
His first start of 2025 ended when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led off the sixth with his first home run of the year, followed by a walk to Anthony Santander. Still, his 97 pitches thrown represented a massive victory given the last time he left a mound with his elbow cooked, just more than a year ago.
‘As long as he feels good, there’s no more determined or dedicated guy than him in the world,’ Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters after Toronto defeated Atlanta 3-1. ‘He’ll continue to build on this. He’s come a long way to get to the point he’s on a major league mound again.’
His last time out in a game that counted came in his second start of 2024, and on April 13 he underwent a second ligament replacement along with the insertion of an internal brace. Ever curious of mind and diligent in his work, Strider was throwing bullpen sessions early in spring training, and had reached 90 pitches in a rehab start for Class AAA Gwinnett.
Wednesday, it was time to take the mound for real, at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
The results were mixed but largely positive: Strider’s fastball topped out at 97.9 mph in the first inning and hovered in the 95 mph range thereafter. It dipped to 94 mph in the third, when he gave up consecutive hits to Bo Bichette and Guerrero, whose RBI double gave Toronto a 1-0 lead. He needed 27 pitches to complete the third, putting him at 60 overall.
But Strider, 26, found a second wind. He retired eight in a row in pitching clean fourth and fifth innings, and his strikeout of Barger came in just his 335th career inning, setting a new standard. And perhaps Atlanta manager Brian Snitker got a little greedy sending him out for the sixth.
Guerrero won a seven-pitch battle, sending a spinning full-count slider over the wall in left and after Santander walked, Strider was lifted.
Strider viewed the Guerrero at-bat as a microscosm of his mixed day: Jumping ahead 0-2 with a pair of well-executed sliders, followed by an inability to finish off one of the game’s greatest hitters.
‘Five two-strike pitches in one at bat. Oh for five,’ says Strider. ‘A lot of uncompetitive and poorly executed two-strike pitches. To not execute in those situations is frustrating, and it’s essential to my success and the team’s success.’
Indeed, the Braves are now 5-13, a grim start for a club that’s reached the playoffs seven consecutive seasons, and a punchless offense is largely to blame. Atlanta struck out 19 times, including 10 in five innings against Chris Bassitt.
‘We’re better than that,’ says Snitker, ‘but we’re not until we are.’
The offensive funk dampened the silver lining of Strider’s return, even as it marked a significant step forward for a pitcher who struck out a major league-high 281 batters in 2023, when he won 20 games. He led the majors with 483 strikeouts between 2022 and ’23.
The huge strikeout numbers weren’t totally there on Wednesday, though a punchout an inning against just one walk will play. As his season unfolds, Strider’s stuff should tick upward.
For now, serving notice that he’s nearing return to the dominant pitcher he was will have to do.
‘He’s doing things nobody’s ever done. He’s extremely important to our club and to our rotation,’ says Snitker, whose club claiemd a wild card spot while Strider mended last season .’When you lose a guy like that – we made it work once. It’s just good to have him back.
‘He’s an unbelievable competitor and I’m just glad to have him back where I can look at him every day.’
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