Spencer Strider showed tremendous honesty about his 2026 debut

The Atlanta Braves finally got Spencer Strider back on the mound, but he was far from happy with his performance in his 2026 debut on Sunday.

In his first start of the season, Strider pitched for just 3 1/3 innings and allowed 3 earned runs on 4 hits in an 11-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, Colo. He struck out six batters, but issued 5 walks, tying a career high.

It was an uneven start for Strider, who did not mince his words about his showing.

“I’d rather be pitching than hurt, for sure, but I don’t want a participation trophy,” Strider said after the game, via Owen Perkins of MLB.com. “I’m here to help the team win games. I’m getting paid a ridiculous amount of money to do it, and if I can’t, then that’s a problem. So let’s find a way to be more effective than I was today. [I’ve] got a lot of work to do.”

The  27-year-old Strider had to wait a long time before he could make his first appearance in the 2026 campaign, as an oblique injury he suffered in spring training landed him on the injured list. 

Hitter-friendly Coors Field isn’t exactly an ideal location for someone to make his first pitching start coming off a long layoff, but at least Strider didn’t pick up a loss, thanks to Atlanta’s offense that produced 28 runs in the Rockies series.