Spencer Strider struggles, as Braves fall to Nationals

The Braves were hoping to continue their momentum with Spencer Strider making his highly anticipated return after suffering a Grade 1 hamstring strain.

Nationals Park played host to Strider’s second start of the season. In his only other outing, he went five innings and allowed two earned runs with five strikeouts in a 2-0 loss to the Blue Jays. This one wasn’t nearly as pretty.

In the very first inning, the Nationals racked up three runs on Spencer Strider, thanks to four straight hits. Nothing was struck particularly hard, but Strider’s ability to miss bats isn’t what it once was, and a large part of that is because of the velocity. As has been the case all year, he sat around 95 MPH with his heater, quite a dip from where he once was when his average fastball was 98.1 MPH, oftentimes touching 100 MPH.

But it wasn’t just the velocity that doomed Strider on Tuesday night. His control was well below average as well, and his off-speed offerings left a lot to be desired. He looked a lot like a pitcher that has made just one start over the last 13 months. About the only positives to takeaway are that he came out of the other side healthy, and he did finish the night strong, holding the Nationals scoreless in 2.1 frames after a Dylan Crews solo shot in the second inning.

His final line read: 4.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 earned runs, 1 walk, 2 HBP, and 3 Ks

When Spencer Strider exited, the Braves trailed 4-3, thanks to a three-run rally in the second inning that was highlighted by a Matt Olson home run to dead-center field. However, the bats would go cold for the rest of the evening, failing to score, as the Nationals took Game 1 of this three-game set 5-3.

It’s good to have this day in the rearview mirror. Of course, it would have been a lot nicer had the Braves come away victorious, and there are undoubtedly concerns surrounding what Strider is going to provide this season. This was one of the most dominant pitchers in the game before undergoing InternalBrace surgery last April, and what made him so unhittable was his triple-digit heater. Perhaps that velocity returns in time, but if it doesn’t, he will have to find different ways to get guys out and prevent runs.

For now, it is best to just chalk up Strider’s struggles to rust. It’s been a while since he’s faced major-league hitting consistently, and the only way to improve is with more reps.