Strider searching for solutions as clunky stretch continues

ATLANTA -- Spencer Strider sat alone in the dugout and stared aimlessly toward the ground after being chased during the fourth inning of a 13-9 loss to the White Sox on Monday night at Truist Park.

“I can't compete in the strike zone, and that's it,” Strider said. “So, my fastball just isn't getting outs. It's not a contact pitch, and it's not moving the way that I need it to move. And so when I can't throw my fastball in the strike zone, obviously that gives the hitters a leg up. Then my slider is an effective pitch, but not if I'm behind in counts or not making guys swing. Then inevitably, if I throw it in the zone, it's getting crushed.”

Strider’s honest assessment came after he allowed seven runs and 10 hits to Chicago over just three innings. His velo was as high as it’s been all season and he produced a decent swing-and-miss rate. But his inability to regain the late life his heater previously possessed has haunted him.

“I think even independent of the fastball movement not being where it needs to be, I can still execute it better than I am,” Strider said. “But the reason it's not moving the way I need it to move, because I'm not moving the way I need to move, and that makes executing hard.”

Jurickson Profar’s two homers weren’t enough for the Braves, who bid adieu to a five-game winning streak. Strider has started the only two games Atlanta has lost over the past seven and he has accounted for three of the four losses the team has suffered over the past 13 games.

“We were winning games and doing great and had some momentum,” Strider said. “ Regardless of what that means for the whole season, it's just a fun thing for the team, and it's good for us to succeed. So, of course, I want to try and put us in a position to continue that and I really blew it. So that's unacceptable.”

Brooks Baldwin hit a solo homer and Luis Robert Jr. added a two-run shot against Strider, who has allowed seven home runs over his past three starts (11 2/3 innings). He had allowed just five homers over 10 starts (58 2/3 innings) from June 8-July 28.

Strider didn’t show any signs of physical limitations. His average four-seam fastball velocity was 96.2 mph, matching his season high. He also induced 13 whiffs during his 68-pitch effort. The 19.1 whiff percentage was his third best mark of the year.

“The beautiful thing about baseball is my stuff was worse a month ago, two months ago, when I was pitching better,” Strider said. “So I actually think that I've made a lot of progress in my metrics and things like that over these last few starts. You play guys that are really talented too. I think that when I've executed, guys have still beaten me.”

Strider has allowed 20 runs and 29 hits while totaling just 11 2/3 innings over his past three starts. He has notched just two strikeouts in each of his past two outings. These are the only two times in 71 career starts he hasn’t notched at least three strikeouts.

That’s not something to expect from a guy who won 20 games in 2023 and led MLB in strikeouts from 2022-23.

Strider seemed to distance himself from last year’s season-ending elbow surgery as he posted a 3.07 ERA over 10 starts from June 8-July 28.

But nothing has gone right since Aug. 2, when he warmed up to start the Speedway Classic and then was scratched because of a lengthy rain delay. He waited another four days to make the first of the three ugly starts completed this month.

Some oddities of Strider’s recent rough stretch:

He hadn’t allowed a double-digit hit total before the Brewers tagged him for 11 hits on Aug. 6. The White Sox now stand as the only other team to tally 10-plus hits against the 26-year-old hurler.

This is the first time he has allowed seven homers over a three-start span. His previous high was the six homers surrendered over the three starts he made from June 3-14, 2023.

His 13 strikeouts over his past four starts are easily his lowest total over any four-start stretch (single season) in his career. His three strikeouts against the Royals on July 28 stood as his career low total until these past two starts.

“It seems like the approaches have changed, and they've made an adjustment to me,” Strider said. “I'm going to have to make an adjustment back, whether that's kind of bearing down on some of this movement stuff, or finding other ways, in the short term to be better. I've got to do it.”