Braves are hitting now, but pitching has faltered, and Spencer Strider got rocked again

New York Times

a day ago

NEW YORK — Given how the Atlanta Braves' lousy season has gone, it probably isn't surprising that their offense has become productive at a time when they are scrambling to piece their pitching together with a depleted staff that's getting knocked around the ballpark on a semi-regular basis.
The Braves have scored 116 runs since the All-Star break — third most in the NL behind the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers — but their 5.95 ERA is second worst in the majors since the break, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies.
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That pitching is the main culprit for Atlanta's 9-15 record since the break, including a 13-5 rout Tuesday by the New York Mets, who hit six homers in a series opener in which Spencer Strider stumbled again, giving up eight runs and three homers in four innings. All 13 Mets runs came with two outs.
'That's two in a row where I just wasn't able to make (hitters) uncomfortable,' said Strider, who has allowed 19 hits, 13 runs and five homers in 8 2/3 innings over his past two starts. 'So, obviously, I have to make an adjustment and figure out a way to do better.
'Obviously, my stuff's not exactly the same as it has been in years past. I think the last two starts it's actually been a lot better, especially tonight. But still, I'm making mistakes —and in counts you can't make mistakes in.'
The Braves staked Strider to a 1-0 lead in the first inning before the Mets scored five runs in the second and third innings, four via two homers, including the 253rd of Pete Alonso's career to set a Mets record. (Alonso homered again in the seventh off Austin Cox, who also gave up three homers.)
After Atlanta answered that initial Mets outburst with four runs in the fourth to tie, including a two-run double from Nacho Alvarez Jr., the Mets got a three-run homer from Brandon Nimmo in the fourth, inflating Strider's ERA to 4.69.
Tie ballgame!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/yVVJuYMJkm
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 13, 2025
Strider allowed a career-high 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings last week against the Brewers and matched his career high for runs allowed Tuesday while also setting a career low for strikeouts in a start with two.
Strider has a 5-10 record in his first season back from his second major elbow surgery, and at times he's barely resembled the pitcher who blew away hitters with 98-99 heaters at the top of the zone while leading the majors with 281 strikeouts in 186 2/3 innings during his 20-win season in 2023.
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The velocity is down a couple of ticks, and the command falters at times.
'This is a year off of surgery, and you're going to go through the peaks and valleys and rough times in trying to get through a year,' Braves manager Brian Snitker said. 'I've had these guys before, and this is kind of what they go through, and they just got to keep fighting like they did when they were fighting to get back to this point.
'He's a guy that's always going to do the work, he's going to be consistent, and it's tough. It's not fun to go through this, what he went through and what he's going through. It's hell to get there, but you have to. You've got to handle it and get through it. It's like this is phase two of the progression.'
Despite Tuesday's outcome — just the second win in 14 games for the Mets — Snitker has had reason to think his team might finally be ready for the kind of winning stretch he and his players have talked about all season but still haven't done. They were coming off a five-game series against the Miami Marlins in which Atlanta had four wins, 31 runs and 10 homers.
They could welcome back star Ronald Acuña Jr. from the 10-day injured list later this week, with Austin Riley not too far behind him, and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale possibly returning within two weeks.
That Sale was eager to return instead of shutting it down for the season, and Acuña wants to finish strong after beginning the season on the IL recovering from knee surgery and going on it again for a recent mild calf strain, are perhaps signs this isn't a typical underperforming team that's ready to be done and set up tee times.
Sale, who's been on the 60-day IL since June 19 with two fractured ribs, made his first rehab start Tuesday for Triple-A Gwinnett and will likely make a couple more. He threw 40 pitches in two innings Tuesday and was charged with three hits, one run and two walks with two strikeouts.
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Snitker said Sale would need to build to around 75-80 pitches before coming off the IL.
Acuña traveled with the Braves and did another full workout Tuesday, sprinting and doing acceleration/deceleration drills. Snitker said he would not be activated Wednesday but that the Braves didn't think Acuña or Riley would require a rehab assignment.
Yes, it's too little, too late for the Braves. But they are not of the mindset of some fans who thought Sale and Acuña should just rest and prepare for next season. For the Braves, they believe if they finish strong, they could do something other than keep attendance somewhat respectable down the stretch and play a spoiler role against playoff contenders.
'I want to win, first and foremost,' Strider said. 'I don't care what our record is. There are people that put a lot of effort into the outcome of our games, in here and all over the place. So, I think that matters, and I think it's important to keep that perspective, that regardless of when our season ends, that every game we play is a representation of who we are. So I think that's important, and then, of course, continue to try to get better.'
They believe winning now could help them feel better about next season, when most of their key contributors will be back.
Riley has had two stints on the IL for the same lower-abdominal muscle strain. It's his second consecutive disappointing season after a stretch of three seasons in which he finished sixth or seventh in MVP votes each year while averaging 36 homers and 99 RBIs with a 135 OPS+.
Riley is among Braves players who signed long-term extensions early in their careers, along with Acuña, Michael Harris II, Strider, Ozzie Albies, and both Matt Olson and Sean Murphy after coming in trades.
Some of those deals have worked out, others have not, and the Braves need to evaluate before giving out more such deals in the future.
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Even if the Braves are out of the postseason picture — not technically eliminated, but out — and the remaining seven weeks aren't the high-stakes games they are used to playing this time of year, they have seen important progress and aptitude from the likes of Harris and rookie pitcher Hurston Waldrep.
Waldrep, a first-round pick out of the University of Florida in 2023, went from spending most of this season at Triple A to being the Braves' best active starter at this moment, at least until Sale returns.
After adding a sinker early this season at the suggestion of catcher Murphy, and reducing the leg kick in his delivery to help with command of all pitches, Waldrep has a 1.54 ERA in two games for Atlanta. He's given up just seven hits, two runs, three walks and 10 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings.
In two starts for the Braves in 2024, Waldrep had a 16.71 ERA in two starts with nine hits, 13 runs and eight walks allowed in seven innings.
'I think the time he spent in Triple A was really good for him,' Snitker said. 'He's worked on a lot of things, made some changes in pitch mix, delivery, the whole thing. And he looks like a different guy than I remembered.'
Harris hit an anemic .205 with six homers and a .539 OPS in his first 90 games but sizzled with a .359 average, six homers and a 1.047 OPS in his past 26 games before Tuesday, a surge that started with the St. Louis Cardinals series leading into the All-Star break. He had an NL-leading 1.6 WAR in that span, according to FanGraphs.
Marcell Ozuna, who'll be a free agent after the season, slumped badly this summer and lost the regular DH job. But his injured hip has healed, and he had six homers in his past 12 games (10 starts) before Tuesday, tied with the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber for most homers in that span since July 28.
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So there's hope, at least for occasionally entertaining baseball from the Braves during these dog days of summer.
With the exception of Ozuna, the others mentioned figure prominently in the Braves' plans next season, which couldn't be said with any certainty a month ago for Harris — or even two weeks ago for Waldrep.
In the meantime, the Braves hope to go on a run, to at least move a lot closer to .500 than they are now. And to get rid of some of the rotten taste from their mouths that's accumulated this season.
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