The Atlanta Braves didn’t have much to celebrate on Tuesday at the major-league level, with the Washington Nationals snapping their six-game win streak. But down in Gwinnett, something far more important unfolded.

Spencer Strider took the mound for his second rehab start as he works back from an oblique injury, with Sean Murphybehind the plate, continuing his own recovery from hip surgery.

Strider’s first outing with High-A Rome showed flashes — 50 pitches, 3.1 innings, three strikeouts — but this one? This looked like the old version, the version that was once among the most dominant strikeout artists in baseball.

He was still on a strict pitch count, capped at 65, but in those 4.1 innings, he struck out five while allowing just one hit and one walk. The velocity was there, sitting 96–97 and touching 98. But more importantly, the life on the fastball — the shape that made it one of the most unhittable pitches in the game — is much different than what we saw a year ago.

The result? Four whiffs on the heater and 15 total whiffs on the night. That’s frontline stuff. That’s the version of Strider the Braves have been waiting on.

He’ll likely need one more rehab outing, probably pushing closer to 80 pitches, but assuming no setbacks, there’s a very real chance he’s back in Atlanta within the next two weeks. There’s nothing left for him to prove in the minors — and despite the rotation’s early success, the cracks have started to show. This current level of production isn’t sustainable. They need another high-end arm, and Strider looks ready to be that guy again.

As for Murphy, the timeline is a bit slower. He’s appeared in five games so far but is still hitless in 14 at-bats. More importantly, he hasn’t caught a full nine innings or played on back-to-back days yet.

The Braves are clearly being cautious, which makes sense given the time he missed. Realistically, it could be another week or two before he’s back in Atlanta.

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(Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire)