Since their move from Milwaukee in 1966, five different Hall of Fame starting pitchers have toed the rubber for the Atlanta Braves. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz made up the iconic trio of the great teams of the 1990s and 2000s. Before them, Phil Niekro and Gaylord Perry started games for the Braves. None of those five — nor any other pitcher in the franchise’s Atlanta era — did what rookie Spencer Strider did against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.
The Colorado hitters didn’t have much of a chance against Strider. He went eight shutout innings, surrendering only two hits and issuing no walks. He also struck out 16 batters — an Atlanta-era record.
A new Atlanta Braves record!
16 STRIKEOUTS TONIGHT FOR @SpencerSTRIDer!#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/ti2ol9ur3F
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 2, 2022
Strider also set a franchise record (which includes the Boston and Milwaukee years) for strikeouts in a nine-inning game. The overall franchise record is held by Warren Spahn, who struck out 18 hitters in a 1952 game for the then Boston Braves. That game, though, lasted 15 innings. Spahn pitched all 15 and six of his strikeouts came after the ninth inning.
The baseball world was effusive in its praise of the rookie’s tremendous performance.
All the pitchers Atlanta has had, Strider sets this record during his age 23 rookie season. A ridiculous performance. https://t.co/mwmpHcEZTq
— Gabe Burns (@GabeBurnsAJC) September 2, 2022
I've heard Strider say he considers himself lucky to play this game he loves so much…I don't know about you, but I feel pretty lucky to watch this kid pitch every 5 days! What a performance @SpencerSTRIDer 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/DkOAVrkHA6
— Kelly Crull (@Kelly_Crull) September 2, 2022
That should be it for Spencer Strider and he may have just put together the best regular season start in Atlanta history.
8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 16 strikeouts.
Just insane.
— Eric Cole (@leprekhan) September 2, 2022
i knew Strider was different when they asked what superpower he’d want. he said super strength so he could break the pitch speed record.
he’s built different
— Blooper (@BlooperBraves) September 2, 2022
Strider and the Braves got the win, as Kenley Jansen pitched a clean ninth inning to secure a 3-0 victory. This is often a time of the year where rookie pitchers begin to fade some, as they’re not used to throwing this many innings. Strider, though, seems to be getting better.
For a team getting ready to head into the postseason, that’s great news.
[Atlanta Braves on Twitter]
