Sunday night at Truist Park featured plenty of mustaches in attendance, which meant it was Spencer Strider’s turn in the rotation. This predictably meant the Philadelphia Phillies were in for a rough evening on Memorial Day Weekend.
Strider, 24, is in his second full season with the Braves, came into the day leading MLB with 97 strikeouts, seven ahead of Los Angeles’ global superstar Shohei Ohtani and 12 ahead of the National League’s second-placed pitcher Mitch Keller. Atlanta’s soon-to-be All-Star also leads baseball with 15.1 strikeouts per inning, a mark that’s sure to be even higher after today’s effort.
Facing off with the Phillies, who came into the night with the fifth-most strikeouts in the NL, yet also a team who’s won five of their past eight contests, Strider made sure the Philadelphia lineup never found their groove.
Strider did have a few blemishes on the day, walking Kody Clemens at the top of the third inning before giving up a two-run shot to Brandon Marsh in the next at-bat. And if it hadn’t been for center fielder Michael Harris II robbing another home run, Strider would have had three earned runs allowed on the day. Nevertheless, Strider regained his composure and even struck out seven of his final nine batters. If he hadn’t reached 102 pitches, returning for the seventh inning might have been in play.
- Spencer Strider’s stat line in Braves’ win: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K
But the Braves provided plenty of run support, with a seven-run opening frame and another three-run outburst in the fourth inning. Strider didn’t need to risk injury or further fatigue by hanging around to punish the Phillies’ lineup any further.
Plus, Strider has 5.7 innings pitched per start this season, so expecting any more would have been a bonus. Either way, Strider was plenty effective when he was on the mound, stifling the Philadelphia lineup while becoming the first pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts this season. In doing so, Strider became the quickest pitcher in MLB history to accomplish this feat, reaching 100 Ks in just 61 innings.
Strider’s latest effort was his sixth game this season where he forced 20 or more swings and misses. There isn’t another pitcher in baseball with more than three such games so far this year.
In other words, opposing hitters haven’t consistently found a way to make contact with Strider’s stuff. It’s hard to imagine anyone else making a better case to win the NL Cy Young award than Strider is right now and Sunday’s performance was just the latest example of his nastiness.
Related: 2023 MLB power rankings: Rangers, Astros rise heading into June as Blue Jays, Padres drop