Monday’s Spring Training game for the Braves had a little added excitement, with Spencer Strider making his return to the mound for the first time since he underwent internal brace surgery last April. Given the time off, it would have been understandable for there to have been some rust, but that couldn’t have been further from the case for the Braves ace.
Spencer Strider set down the first six batters he faced, with only one of them putting the ball in play. He struck out the final five batters he faced through the first two innings, and perhaps most impressively, he did it while showing off his entire four-pitch mix, flashing a fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup. Strider would come back out for the third inning, forcing a fly out and tallying his sixth strikeout of the afternoon before Brian Snitker made the stroll to the mound after 27 pitches.
The velocity on Strider’s fastball was a little down compared to where it was before the injury, sitting at 95-96 throughout the outing, but that’s to be expected this early in his return. There was really nothing that anybody could possibly complain about from the performance. Spencer Strider looked in mid-season form, and a potential mid-April return now looks extremely likely.
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Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire
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