ATLANTA -- How long might it take before Spencer Strider begins pitching like himself again?
Strider’s patience was again tested as he allowed three homers in an 8-3 loss to the D-backs on Tuesday night at Truist Park. The Braves right-hander has battled inconsistent command as he attempts to regain the dominant form he had before tearing the UCL in his right elbow for a second time at the start of the 2024 season.
“Command without stuff is batting practice,” Strider said. “That's about what I offered up today. I’ve got to be better, just to give us a chance.”
Ketel Marte hit a pair of homers within the first three innings and Corbin Carroll began his two-homer performance with a fifth-inning solo shot against Strider, who allowed five earned runs and six hits over five innings. The Atlanta hurler has posted a 5.68 ERA over four starts this year and a 6.43 ERA in the three starts he’s made since returning from a right hamstring strain.
“It just doesn't come back overnight,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I wish it would. I know [Strider] does, but it's a tough process.”
Making that process even tougher is the fact the Braves have lost nine of their past 12 games. They are 10 games out of first place and four games ahead of the last-place Marlins in the National League East. Their slide has actually created reason to wonder if they could be sellers before the July 31 Trade Deadline.
“We've got to win games, and when it's my turn to pitch, I’ve got to give us a chance to win,” Strider said. “If I can't do that, then I don't know what value I'm providing, besides getting reps.”
Strider was the game’s most dominant pitcher, as he led the Majors in strikeouts from 2022-23, despite spending the first two months of that first season as a reliever. He set a franchise record with 281 strikeouts in 2023 and then suffered a season-ending elbow injury during his second start of 2024.
There wasn’t a need to undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time in five years because his UCL wasn’t torn, it was compromised by a bone spur. So, he underwent the internal brace procedure that required 12 months of rehab, approximately six less than Tommy John.
After returning to Atlanta’s rotation on April 16, he strained his right hamstring playing catch five days later. Another month on the injured list further delayed his bid to get back to where he was in 2023, when his four-seamer averaged 97.2 mph and his slider produced a 55.3 percent whiff rate.
Strider’s four-seamer averaged 95.2 mph on Tuesday, 0.1 mph higher than it did exactly a week earlier in Philadelphia. The D-backs whiffed with eight of 14 (57 percent) swings against the slider. And the Phillies had a 60 percent whiff rate against this pitch last week.
So, that’s encouraging. But Strider’s inconsistent command hurt him when he left a changeup elevated to Marte in the first inning and then gave him a 3-0 cookie in the third inning. Carroll’s fifth-inning homer came against another middle-middle fastball.
“Regardless of the hitter in the big leagues, they're going to do damage on those,” Strider said. “I thought there were some streaks where I was really executing pitches and commanding the ball the way I wanted, but it doesn't take but one mistake to change the game.”
Like when Chris Sale struggled at the start of this year, Strider believes his stuff, velocity and command will all improve as he refines his mechanics. He is physically limited as he distances himself from surgery. But he’s still attempting to remain confident he can turn things around as quickly as Sale, who has posted a 1.42 ERA in his past seven starts.
“I don’t think things are just going to get better on their own,” Strider said. “I think you've got to intervene deliberately. It can be tough because you've got to prepare your body for a start in five days. So you can't just crush reps on anything until things improve. But I do have the ability and the knowledge to make things better in the next five days.”
