The time has finally arrived for Spencer Strider to take the mound for the Braves.
Strider will start Sunday against the Rockies in Denver, Colorado, Braves manager Walt Weiss announced Wednesday. It will be the first game of the season for Strider, who has missed the first month of the season with an oblique injury.
“He’s just itching to get back,” Weiss said. “After he threw the 82 pitches the last outing, you get there, you’re in the neighborhood to come back and take a start for us. There’s no reason to hold him back at this point.”
A 27-year-old right-hander, Strider went five innings and threw 82 pitches for Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday. His fastball, which he threw 38 times, averaged 95 mph, and he induced 17 whiffs on 39 swings.
That was the third rehab start for Strider, who also started a game for Gwinnett on April 21 and one for Single-A Rome on April 16. He had made three appearances in spring training before the oblique injury flared up and delayed the start to his ‘26 campaign.
“I think I found some feel for some pitches and my mechanics that I haven’t felt in a long time over these last two outings,” Strider said April 21. “Maybe that’s the silver lining of this injury, the time it’s afforded me to just take what I’d done in spring and refine some things. Hopefully, it sets me up to be of use to the team for the rest of the season.”
Strider has only made one previous start in Colorado, that coming June 4, 2022. He walked five and struck out four while allowing just one run over four innings of work.
The return of Strider is a boost to a Braves’ pitching staff that hasn’t needed much of one. Its 3.02 ERA is the third-best in MLB.
Strider’s return will also mean the Braves will be forced to make a roster move, with young pitchers Didier Fuentes and JR Ritchie prime options to return to Triple-A to continue their development.
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