ATLANTA -- Spencer Strider’s most effective effort of the season wasn’t enough.
The Braves’ offense was silenced in a 2-1 loss to the Marlins on Monday night at loanDepot park. But Strider’s results gave him reason to believe last week’s trip to an Atlanta baseball lab might have helped him get back on the right track.
“Getting through seven [innings] is obviously an improvement,” Strider said. “I think I did a lot of things well, based on the plan and work that we talked about coming into the start. But there were still some things that, ironically, ended up beating me.”
Otto Lopez walked to begin the bottom of the fifth, then stole second base and scored on a Troy Johnston double. That accounted for the only run Strider surrendered while he completed seven innings for just the second time this season. This was the first time he allowed one run or fewer over seven-plus innings since Sept. 13, 2023.
It’s safe to say that this outing erased some of the stress that had been building as Strider posted a 15.43 ERA in the three August starts that preceded this outing. He allowed seven homers within 11 2/3 innings during this span.
“That was a lot better,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It was really good. Fastball played better.”
As Strider distances himself from the elbow surgery that limited him to just two starts in 2024, he will have to patiently await the return of the upper-90s fastball that helped him lead MLB in strikeouts from 2022-23. But more importantly, he needs to regain the late life his heater possessed before the surgical procedure.
“I really don't care about velo,” Strider said. “I expect to throw harder and will always try to. It gives you more room for error. But the [vertical movement], late life, or whatever you want to call it: That's what is going to make my fastball succeed.”
In other words, the focus wasn’t on the fact Strider’s four-seamer averaged just 95.4 mph Monday, his 11th lowest average in 18 starts this year. Instead, the focus was on the fact that his induced vertical break of the four-seamer averaged 18 inches, up two inches from his season average.
To put this into context, when Strider set a franchise record with 281 strikeouts in 2023, the average induced vertical break of his four-seamer was 18.4 inches. He entered Monday with his 2025 average being 16.3 inches.
Strider’s improvement could be attributed to last week’s trip to Maven, a baseball lab located about seven miles south of Truist Park. The lab, which is used by many players during the offseason, has technology that the Braves hurler knew would benefit him.
“Trying to understand how to move in an optimal way in the short term between starts is tough, but it's something I have to do,” Strider said. “If I can’t throw my fastball in the strike zone, that's a problem. [With the late life], I can turn some of those fastballs in the zone, even if I miss location, into foul balls, like they had been previously in my career.”
Strider won’t regain his dominant stuff until he has a full offseason to make necessary adjustments and simply allow his arm to move further past surgery. He had just three strikeouts in Monday's start against the Marlins, though his third was career strikeout No. 600, as he became the seventh-fastest player to reach the milestone in MLB history (424 1/3 IP). This is just the sixth time in 72 career starts he has notched three or fewer strikeouts. Four of these instances have occurred within his past five starts.
But Strider seemed to be in control throughout Monday’s game. Even after hitting a batter and issuing a walk in the seventh, he was able to get through his final inning unscathed.
“It was good to see him get out of that jam in the seventh inning,” Snitker said. “I think it was a really good outing for him. Maybe that's something that will kind of spring him ahead and get him going.”