Braves Strider Gets Big Test With Phillies in Effort to Return To Form

The Atlanta Braves start their series against the Philadelphia Phillies with Spencer Strider taking the bump in the opener. He makes his third start of the season and looks to bounce back from a shakey return from the injured list.

In his start on May 20, he pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits and a walk while hitting two batters and striking out three. He made exactly 75 pitches before being lifted. He struggled against some of the promising talent the Nationals have at the top of their lineup. James Wood and CJ Abrams went a combined 3-for-6 with a walk against him.

Knowing the Braves sent down Bryce Elder, who had been pitching well for the Braves, to make room for him in the rotation, Strider is ready to figure out how to get back to form.

"You gotta put in the work for things to improve," Strider said after his last start. "I don't think it just happens overnight."

He'll have to make those adjustments against a surging Phillies team. They've won 10 of their last 12 games. Their opponent's haven't been formidable: an Athletics team coming back down to earth and the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies. That being said the Braves can't let their guard down simply because they are better than those teams and have won a series against the Phillies this season.

It's a tough lineup regardless. He has to return to form while getting through Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber. The Phillies' .747 OPS is the sixth best in MLB. They've also drawn the seventh most walks (197) and scored the seventh most runs (260). There is no tune-up Major League opponent.

Strider's goal is going to be to win the ballgame for his team. Nothing short of that will satisfy him. However, from an outside perspective, simply seeing improvement when taking on this lineup would be a great step.

The Braves series opener against the Phillies will be played on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m.

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