Spencer Strider came close to a no-hitter as the Braves ended their four-game skid Monday with a 11-0 series-opening win over the Marlins at Truist Park.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Since he became a fixture in the Braves’ rotation, Strider has constantly amazed with his strikeout prowess. But this might’ve been his finest outing yet. He discarded the Marlins with ease, pitching six perfect innings and carrying a no-hitter through 7-1/3 innings.
Strider struck out 13 and allowed two hits over eight scoreless innings. He fell short of the 15th no-hitter in Braves history (the team hasn’t had a perfect game), but it was perhaps the most dazzling performance for a pitcher who routinely produces them.
“I’m just grateful I made it that deep into the game, honestly,” Strider said. “Getting through four without walking a guy, to me, is a good day. So we threw strikes, attacked, Murph (catcher Sean Murphy) called a great game.”
2. Strider said he was aware of the no-hitter as the game progressed. His grandmother, Esther Barkley, was in the stands celebrating her 90th birthday while watching Strider go for history. His mom, uncle and some extended family were also in attendance.
“I’m happy they were there for that; they don’t get to come to a lot of games,” Strider said. “Certainly not since I’ve made it to this level.”
3. As for how the no-hitter ended, long-time Braves nemesis Jean Segura hit a low pitch that landed in shallow left-center field. Strider credited Segura as a good out-of-the-zone hitter (“I probably should’ve thrown over the backstop, maybe he couldn’t reach that,” Strider said).
“No one messed up,” Murphy said. “It was a great swing. He made his pitch and (Segura) did a good job putting the bat on the ball. That’s what you have to do in that situation, just put the ball in play and see what happens. He got the knock. Hat’s off to him. That’s how it goes.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Strider had lost his perfect game in the seventh when Jazz Chisholm hit a hard grounder to first baseman Matt Olson, who couldn’t corral the ball, resulting in an error. Strider mentioned he didn’t think he would’ve made it to first in time for the out anyway. It was among the few blemishes of a near perfect night.
“Explosive fastball, really good slider,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said of Strider. “He has not only deception but again, an explosive fastball, putting it where he wanted, and the slider was really good. He made it really tough on our guys. I was getting nervous for a minute there that he was going to go the distance and no-hit us because we just didn’t put too many good swings on him.”
Marlins infielder Jon Berti added: “He was attacking and knows how to use his stuff. It just felt like, especially with two strikes, it seemed like he made it even more difficult. Made really good pitches out on the edges. Any time a guy like that’s not missing too much over the plate with that kind of stuff, it’s going to be a tough night.”
4. The Braves hit five homers in their victory.
Sam Hilliard hit two, while Murphy, Austin Riley and Eddie Rosario also went deep.
5. Strider has a 1.80 ERA over five starts this season. Monday marked his 25th career start. He’s obtained remarkable success for such a young player, especially considering how quickly he rose through the minor-league system.
“It’s rare, but I don’t think it’s surprising,” Murphy said. “I don’t think anybody in this clubhouse is surprised. The type of guy he is. We fully expect him to go out next time focused, locked in and ready to go.”
It was Strider’s seventh double-digit strikeout performance. When asked if he’d be surprised if Strider pitched multiple no-hitters in his career, Murphy said, “Absolutely not. He’s totally capable of it every time he goes out.”
Manager Brian Snitker on Strider’s immediate success: “It’s very special. You don’t see that talent come around. It’s different. I’ve had hitters from other teams talk about hitting at him. How everything has continued to improve, too, from the first inning he threw. … The growth, the improvement over the winter (of 2021), when he got to spring training last year, the work he’d done.
“I just have so much respect for the young man. How consistent he is, the professional, the work ethic, the whole thing. The consistency in what he does is as special as what he does on the mound.”
Asked how Monday compared to his outing against the Rockies last season, when Strider set a franchise record with 16 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings, he responded:
“Similar execution. First-pitch strikes and we had a great game plan. Similar circumstance of the catcher seeing hitters really well and reading swings well. First-pitch strikes and establishing off-speed the right way to set it up for a couple times through the order. So it was similar.”
Stat to know
9 -- (Strider earned his ninth consecutive game with nine or more strikeouts. That’s the longest streak in franchise history, surpassing Hall of Famer John Smoltz, who had eight straight such outings. Strider is two shy of Nolan Ryan’s record set in 1977.)
Quotable
“I told Riley, that was probably as nervous as I get other than when my daughter had to get her driver’s license.” – Snitker on watching a potential no-hitter unfold
Quotable 2
“We had a good game plan and good approach. He’s just a good pitcher. He just had a dominant outing right there and sometimes you run into guys like that. ... That’s a different type of fastball, just different stuff. It felt like you’re facing a closer for eight innings. Credit to him. He’s getting better and better. He’s making really good hitters look bad right now. Sometimes, again, you run into really good pitchers.” - Marlins manager Schumaker
Up next
Charlie Morton (2-2, 3.22) starts for the Braves Tuesday as they try to clinch a series win against the Marlins.
