Former Clemson pitcher Spencer Strider made his long-awaited return to the mound on Wednesday afternoon – and made some MLB history in the process.
After undergoing season-ending surgery last year to repair the damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Strider toed the rubber again Wednesday for his first MLB regular season start since April 5, 2024.
Strider was activated from the injured list Wednesday and made his 2025 season debut against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
It was a solid performance for the 26-year-old Atlanta Braves superstar.
Strider fired five innings of two-run ball, striking out five batters while allowing one walk, five hits and the two runs.
With his fifth strikeout, which came in the fifth inning, Strider tallied the 500th strikeout of his career — becoming the fastest primary starting pitcher, by innings pitched, to reach the 500-strikeout milestone (334 innings).
Following are the top five fastest pitchers to reach 500 Ks:
Spencer Strider: 334 IP
Freddy Peralta: 372 IP
Shohei Ohtani: 388 ⅔ IP
Tyler Glasnow: 398 ⅓ IP
Dylan Cease: 399 ⅓ IP
Against the Blue Jays, Strider pitched into the sixth inning and threw 97 pitches, 58 for strikes. The flamethrowing righthander began his outing with consecutive first-inning strikeouts of Blue Jays stars Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero Jr.
The runs that Strider yielded came on a Guerrero single that scored Bichette in the third inning, and a Guerrero homer that led off the bottom of the sixth.
Prior to his season-ending injury last season, Strider was an All-Star in 2023, when he led the majors in both wins and strikeouts.
That season, Strider racked up 281 strikeouts while posting a 20-5 record, 3.86 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and allowing only 146 hits in 186.2 innings over 32 starts, and he finished fourth in the 2023 NL Cy Young voting.
Strider, who was drafted by the Braves in the fourth round (No. 126 overall pick) of the 2020 draft, entered Wednesday’s game with a 32-10 record, 3.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 495 strikeouts in 329.2 innings across 67 career regular season games (54 starts).
–Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images