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The Braves just cannot seem to avoid the injury bug, even if it’s a less severe case. The latest being Spencer Strider, who is heading back to the IL with a hamstring strain, according to David O’Brien.
Strider strained his hamstring while playing catch today, the Braves said. Came in afterward and said he wouldn't be able to pitch tomorrow. They're still deciding who'll start tomorrow. https://t.co/SKDAJio5Vc
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 21, 2025
Straining a hamstring while playing catch seems impossible, but I’m writing this from a couch, so I digress.
Either way, it’s another blow to an Atlanta rotation that may have lost Reynaldo Lopez for the entire season. Strider was supposed to start tomorrow, making his first appearance in front of Braves fans at Truist Park since April 5th of last year.
Early May will be the earliest Spencer Strider can return to Atlanta, but while a hamstring strain might not be a season-ending ordeal, they can linger and will flare up easily if not allowed the proper time to heal. Given everything the Braves have endured on the injury front, they will want to make sure Strider is 100% before resuming any activities.
In his lone start this season, Spencer Strider went 5.0 innings while giving up two runs with five strikeouts and one walk.
More must-reads:
- Yankees' unlikely answer emerges from depth chart to save season — for now
- Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
- The 'MLB playoff home run leaders' quiz
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Paul Skenes continues home dominance in Pirates' shutout
Paul Skenes tossed six shutout innings and struck out eight to lead the host Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night. Despite allowing a career-high seven hits (five singles), Skenes (7-8) delivered another dominant performance to bolster his case for the National League Cy Young Award. Skenes also beat the Reds for the fourth time in four starts in his career and first time this season. Jared Triolo and Henry Davis each had two hits and two RBIs to give Skenes more than enough of a cushion to secure a win for the third time in his past four starts. It was Skenes' third consecutive start with eight or more strikeouts. It was also the Pirates' fifth shutout of the season in a Skenes start and their 14th overall shutout. It was the Reds' 10th shutout loss. Skenes lowered his major-league best ERA to 1.94 and continues to be exceptionally good at PNC Park, where he has not allowed an earned run since June 3. Bryan Reynolds, who also had two hits, homered in the first inning off Reds' starter Brady Singer (9-9), who lasted only 3 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits, walked four and struck out two. Reynolds' home run came with two outs. Singer proceeded to issue three consecutive walks to Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen and Jack Suwinski to load the bases, setting up a two-run single by Triolo, which gave the Pirates a 3-0 lead. Cruz and Spencer Horwitz each had an RBI and Davis belted a two-run home run off Reds reliever Brent Suter in the bottom of the seventh. Gavin Lux had three hits, and TJ Friedl and Matt McLain each had two hits to lead Cincinnati offensively. But the Reds went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base. McLain and Elly De La Cruz hit back-to-back singles off Skenes with one out in the first. But Austin Hays grounded into an inning-ending double play to end the threat. -Field Level Media
Seahawks studs & duds from NFL preseason debut against the Raiders
The Seattle Seahawks have just wrapped up their first preseason game of the year against former head coach Pete Carroll and the Las Vegas Raiders, ending in a 23-23 tie. As always, anything that happens in August has to come with an asterisk - and you can only learn so much when the playcalling is as vanilla as the Wisconsin state fair on both sides. Nevertheless, let's try to sort out who had a strong game for the Seahawks and who did not in their first action on the field since January. Here is our first edition of studs and duds for the year. Stud: OC Klint Kubiak It's only preseason and most of the starters weren't out there, but at the outset the Seahawks delivered on their offseason promises of establishing a more physical, run-first identity. While it was a total team effort, new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak gets the nod for a high-quality run game. On the first drive, George Holani broke off 33 yards on three runs with assists on great blocks from wide receiver Jake Bobo, tight end Eric Saubert and fullback Robbie Ouzts. The run blocking continued to look strong throughout the first half - and better than it's been in a while. Collectively, the Seahawks ended the game having averaged over five yards per carry and scored two rushing touchdowns. Dud: QB Drew Lock While the run game looked like a well-oiled machine in the first half, Seattle's returning backup quarterback Drew Lock showed a whole lot of rust when it came time to air the ball out. On the first drive, Lock may have been able to lead rookie wide receiver Tory Horton into the end zone but he threw the wrong route by his own admission. Lock then followed that up with another bad throw that was picked off by Raiders safety Isaiah Pola-Mao. Lock finished the evening with an underwhelming line of 12/22 for 147 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and a 71.6 passer rating. Stud: RB George Holani On their second drive Seattle's run game got stuffed a couple of times by Jamal Adams, but it took off when Holani came back on the field. Holani got another great block from Robbie Ouzts and used his burst to break outside and score on a 24-yard run that was initially ruled short. For the evening Holani posted 61 yards and a touchown on just seven carries. Holani also racked up 20 yards on a screen pass later on - overall a positive start for what might be his second-straight impressive preseason. Dud: C Jalen Sundell One play shouldn't completely define any player's game - but Seattle's coaching staff can't afford to be too forgiving about bad mistakes along the offensive line, even during the preseason. With Olu Oluwatimi sitting out due to injury, we saw a supremely ugly rep from Jalen Sundell in the second quarter when he snapped a ball wide and over Drew Lock's head, resulting in a 19-yard loss that killed the drive. Sundell was also flagged for a hold later on. Stud: Seahawks secondary The Seahawks sat starters Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Julian Love and Coby Bryant, but they still got some quality performances on the back end of their defense. Rookie DB Nick Emmanwori showed some burst as a blitzer early, and some preseason mercy by not cracking Geno Smith's back even though he had the opportunity. Boundary cornerback Josh Jobe also picked off an atrocious deep pass by Aidan O'Connell in the second quarter while Nehemiah Pritchett notched another INT on a nice read and posted a PBU, as well. Elsewhere, backup safety D'Anthony Bell flashed some pretty sharp tackling in the open field. Stud: WR Tory Horton Jr. The hottest playmaker at Seahawks training camp carried that momentum over into his NFL debut. Rookie wide reciever Tory Horton Jr. was clearly Drew Lock's preferred target in the first half. There were a few misfires from Lock but Horton made good on his legitimate opportunities, posting three catches, 31 yards and a touchdown after a nifty little spin move. Horton's momentum to take over Marquez Valdez-Scantling's role as the team's WR3 continues to build. Dud: Seahawks pass rush You can only expect so much when all your best pass rushers are on the sidelines. Still, as Michael Bennett lamented near the end of the game, there was a real lack of pressure on the Raiders' quarterbacks all night. As a team, Seattle finished with just one sack. The one exception to the rule was rookie outside linebacker Connor O'Toole, who finished with three quarterback hits. Stud: QB Jalen Milroe When the third quarter began Mike Macdonald subbed out Lock and put in rookie Jalen Milroe at quarterback. Milroe's night mostly consisted of handing the ball off, so we didn't really get to see him unleash his awesome deep arm power. However, we did get to witness his highly-potent speed on the ground. Milroe ran for 38 yards and left multiple pass rushers in the dust before completing a 15-yard pass to Tyrone Broden. Milroe also put a hell of a lot of zip on a couple of his short and intermediate completions. Milroe did have one bad miss on a comeback throw to Dareke Young and he took a rough sack on the final drive, but otherwise he played a clean game and flashed some of the high-level traits that got him drafted.
Dream Dealt Unfortunate News on Brittney Griner on Thursday
Neck pain isn’t usually headline news, unless it belongs to Brittney Griner. Atlanta Dream fans hoping for another dominant night on Thursday just had their mood checked. Griner is officially out again, and suddenly that winning streak feels a little more fragile. The Dream hit the road to face the struggling Chicago Sky, a team sitting at 8-21 and already missing rookie standout Angel Reese. But while the Sky limp into Wintrust Arena, the Dream aren’t walking in at full strength either. On Wednesday, the team ruled out Griner for a third straight game due to her lingering neck injury. According to the WNBA’s official injury report, she’s still not ready for game action. Griner’s absence is a blow. The nine-time All-Star has been averaging 10.6 points and 5.6 boards while shooting over 51 percent from the field this season. She signed with Atlanta as a free agent this offseason, helping turn the Dream into a serious contender after last year’s playoff sneak-in. But with their star center on the bench again, the Dream will have to get creative, and gritty. Brionna Jones, Naz Hillmon Set to Step Up With Griner out, Atlanta is expected to lean on Brionna Jones and Naz Hillmon to carry the frontcourt load. Jones, another offseason addition, has already started taking on a bigger role. The team will need her presence inside to stretch the Sky’s defense and crash the boards. It’s not all gloom, though. Griner’s "doubtful" tag before last week’s Mercury game was the same story, and she’s reportedly getting closer to a return. But Atlanta’s not taking risks with their veteran star, and they shouldn't. Still, with Rhyne Howard also sidelined due to a knee issue, the Dream are down two primary weapons. That makes Thursday’s game less about comfort and more about character.
Blueprint For Mismatch: The Strategic Ascent Of The Raiders’ TE Duo
Brock Bowers’ significant impact on football and the Las Vegas Raiders‘ offensive strategy will be evident throughout the season, bolstered by the confidence of an offense under Chip Kelly. The accolades surely do not write themselves, as Bowers likely wears the crown for the best rookie season for a tight end in NFL history. The accomplishments continue for the star player of an offense striving for a dramatic turnaround in 2025.025. The frosting on the cake for the sophomore tight end is what Bowers accomplished last year in one of the worst offensive schemes in the NFL. How it all came together for the Raiders… Looking back to the 2024 NFL draft, Bowers’ selection garnered significant attention despite his impressive performance, which could have positioned him as the best tight end in the league’s history. The simple reason for that was the Raiders already had a rookie tight end in Michael Mayer from the 2023 NFL draft, who arguably could have been a first-rounder and barely slid to the second. Mayer was the prototypical pass-catching and excellent-blocking tight end the Raiders needed following the departure of Darren Waller. However, coaching instability and limited opportunities behind players like Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers plagued his rookie season. By 2024, when Bowers joined the team, Mayer had vanished entirely. The combination of the two was supposed to be a big feature of a progressing offense. But for Mayer, on October 6th, things changed. He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list. That was due to personal reasons that surrounded his mental health. The team and coaching staff provided the necessary support for Mayer to regain his form; however, he struggled to find his footing as the season drew to a close. During the offseason, rumors surfaced about a potential trade concerning the Dolphins’ vacant TE1 position following the Jonnu Smith trade. Despite this speculation, newly appointed general manager John Spytek seemed uninterested in moving the now third-year tight end. What is the latest regarding Michael Mayer? However, the indications emerging from camp are significantly altering the reasons behind Mayer’s lack of action. Whether it’s his exceptional run-blocking skills or his ability to catch the ball on a tightrope, Mayer has been on fire. Recent interviews reveal that Mayer has flourished in the offseason and believes he’s in the best physical and mental shape of his life. Geno Smith has even come to express how much he wants to get this tight end group involved and have the ability to confuse defenses as to where he might throw the ball next. The current question is whether this duo can become the best that the league has ever seen. There’s no question we see the superstar talent Bowers has displayed and will hopefully continue to over his career. As for Mayer, we have yet to see the full extent of his capabilities since he was drafted out of Notre Dame. He embodies the classic prototype of a tight end, but he excels in multiple areas rather than just one. The combination of Bowers’ generational speed at the position with Mayer’s blocking skills and strong route running suggests that something unprecedented is developing in Vegas. There have been elite tight end groups in the past. Do you recall the Gronk/Hernandez duo from the Patriots dynasty? Or how about Godert/Ertz in Philly? However, the Raiders might have their own duo that’ll create chaos. Raiders OC Chip Kelly could have something special with this TE duo… Now plug in Chip Kelly, who loves to exploit mismatches as well as space out his offenses. Kelly has already put out 12–13 personnel packages in camp. He’s rolling out both monsters on the field at the same time. Last year, this dream never came true. This forces opposing defenses into heavy sets, allowing both to burn mismatches with route running as well as opportunities to create large amounts of YAC. This duo can create havoc in the run and pass. In the run, we can see Mayer set the edge, and Bowers motion to have defenses constantly move. In passing situations, Bowers can fly and stretch the field. Simultaneously, Mayer will demolish defensive zones by identifying vulnerable areas for significant gains. The potential exists for these two to dominate mismatches and consistently move the chains. Personally, I believe this year is when Bowers and Mayer will finally put it all together. That’s because of the coaching and scheme, which can cement them as a threat for years to come.
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