Spencer Strider responds to bad outing better than most

After concerning all of us at the beginning of the season, the rotation once again looks to be the strength of the Braves, and that’s even with Spencer Strider struggling in his return.

The reigning Cy Young Award winner posted a concerning 6.63 ERA through his first four starts, but Chris Sale has found a groove over his last five outings, putting together a 1.72 ERA. A.J. Smith-Shawver is making a case to bring home some hardware of his own as well, boasting an impressive 2.33 ERA across seven starts, including a 1.08 mark over his last four starts.

Spencer Schwellenbach hasn’t had the sterling 2025 campaign that I imagined, highlighted by a couple of gross outings, including six runs in just 3.2 innings against the Dodgers and six runs against the Blue Jays. Yet, the kid still owns a 3.52 ERA, which just goes to show how high expectations are for him.

Hell, the last man in the rotation, Grant Holmes, has a 4.14 ERA. Some Braves fans might scoff at that line, but that’s still a league-average mark, which will certainly play as the fifth arm in a rotation.

If Spencer Strider can return to form, it will once again be among the most formidable units in baseball, but he’s coming off a disappointing outing in his return. Strider surrendered four earned runs, six hits and one walk while striking out three batters across 4.1 innings during the Braves’ loss to the Nationals. He didn’t have his best stuff in any capacity. His fastball lacked the velocity that made him among the most hyped young pitchers in the game, and his control made him look like a guy that has pitched at the major-league level just twice over the last 13 months.

With that being said, expectations should have been tempered coming into the outing. There’s really no reason to expect anyone to come back and immediately return to form, but if there’s anything Braves Country can hang their hats on, it’s the drive of Spencer Strider. The guy is obsessed, and he literally couldn’t have responded better to his less than ideal return.

“I don’t enjoy failing, and certainly not at the expense of the team. We sent a pretty good guy [Bryce Elder] down [to Triple A] that was supposed to pitch in my spot. That’s not lost on me. It’s kind of the nature of the game. I think it’s important to have that perspective when the goal is to win. That takes 26 guys. The guy who’s starting on the mound is a big component in coming out and winning every day, so if I can’t be better, I don’t need to be out there. I think everybody has that mentality at any position. I’m going to have to work to be better,” Strider said, via Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“I certainly want to play, but I take no joy in not giving us a chance. If I don’t feel like I can provide for the team, then I don’t take much pleasure in losing games for us,” he added.

That’s the stuff of legends, man. The wherewithal it takes to not only acknowledge that level of play won’t be good enough but also to praise Bryce Elder is the exact kind of inspiration that can galvanize everyone in the Braves clubhouse.

But is anyone really surprised? This is par for the course from Spencer Strider.

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