It may have just been the lowly Rockies, but it doesn’t matter. It was by far Strider’s best start since returning from UCL surgery. He struck out 13 Colorado batters en route to six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and a walk.
The performance lowered Strider’s ERA to 4.35, picking up his first win of the season. The double-digit punchouts brought a massive sigh of relief among Braves Country as Strider’s 22.4% strikeout rate concerned many.
The biggest reasons why fans were rightfully concerned were Strider’s lack of velocity and control. On Saturday, he looked much closer to the version of himself before InternalBrace surgery.
Spencer Strider averaged a season-high 96.7 mph on his fastball through five innings, more than a whole mile per hour faster than his previous season high. Moreover, he touched 98 mph on multiple pitches early in the outing. He also threw 15 pitches at 97 mph or higher, all in the first five innings. While his velocity dipped into the sixth inning, he generated 24 whiffs in just 87 pitches.
Additionally, Strider looked like he had much better control over his stuff, evident in the fact that he only walked one batter. It’s not just Braves fans who are thinking that Strider could be fully back either.
“I think Spence took a big step forward,” Brian Snitker said. “Because he held his velocity longer than he has, and his stuff was really good. And Ronald just keeps going. He’s just swinging the bat really good and having great at-bats.”
The Braves’ bats and bullpen have been incredibly unreliable this season, but the rotation has been rock-solid. Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach are pitching at an All-Star level, with the former in Cy Young form, and Grant Holmes just tallied 15 strikeouts and has a sub-4.00 ERA.
If the Braves can get Strider all the way back, there isn’t a better 1-2-3 in baseball than Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, and Spencer Schwellenbach. That’s the kind of rotation that can propel an improbable postseason run.
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