Braves ace Spencer Strider has torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will be further evaluated by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, the Braves announced Saturday.
After playing four innings in Atlanta's 6-5, 10-inning victory over the D-backs on Friday, Strider told team medical staff he felt discomfort in his right elbow and will undergo an MRI on Saturday morning. is what happened.
“I thought it was one of those nights,” manager Brian Snitker said Friday. “Then he came in and was complaining about his elbow.”
Strider allowed seven hits and five runs in just four innings. He struck out four and walked three. This is the eighth time in 54 starts that he pitched a complete game in four innings or less. However, it was the sixth time he failed to record at least five strikeouts as a starting pitcher.
Strider has established himself as the game's top strikeout artist with an MLB-best 483 strikeouts over the past two years. His strikeout rate of 37.3 percent (minimum 200 innings) as a starting pitcher from 2022 to 2023 was well above Shohei Ohtani's strikeout rate of second place at 32.4 percent.
Strider's strength is that there are no bats. So after enjoying a dominant spring training and effective Opening Day start in Philadelphia, there was reason to note that Braves hurlers induced just 12 whiffs in 88 pitches thrown. . This is the sixth-lowest total he has thrown at least 80 pitches.