It’s safe to say Spencer Strider wasn’t pleased with his first start back from injury.

The Atlanta Braves star righthander and former Clemson pitcher returned to the mound on Tuesday for what was his first start since suffering a right hamstring strain, which caused him to hit the injured list back on April 21.

In Tuesday’s start against the Washington Nationals in Washington, D.C., Strider took the loss after allowing four runs and six hits in 4.1 innings pitched. He struck out three batters, walked one, and gave up a home run while throwing 75 pitches, 46 for strikes.

Strider’s performance in the Braves’ 5-3 defeat didn’t meet his high expectations for himself.

“Didn’t give us a chance to win the game, really,” Strider said. “Just got to be better. Didn’t execute, stuff wasn’t consistent. Just hate to see the guys come back, put a three-spot up there and then go out and immediately give up the lead. That’s just one of those things you never want to do. So, you know, not acceptable for me.”

After undergoing season-ending surgery last year to repair the damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Strider made his 2025 season debut on April 16 against the Toronto Blue Jays – an outing in which he allowed one walk, five hits and two runs with five strikeouts over five-plus innings.

Given that Tuesday’s game against the Nationals marked just the second start of the season for Strider, Braves manager Brian Snitker believes “the more he pitches, the sharper everything’s going to get.”

“He’s got to start somewhere,” Snitker said. “We got him five ups, just kind of like we were trying to do the last time he threw. And so I think the more he throws, the better he’s going to get. We just had to start somewhere.

“As long as he’s healthy and he does his sides, and then makes his next start on Sunday, I think it’s going to continue to get better.”

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, he 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. 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 MLB Draft, has compiled a 32-12 record, 3.53 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 503 strikeouts in 339.0 innings across 69 career regular season games (56 starts).

The 26-year-old ace kept the Braves in Tuesday’s game – he yielded only one run across his final 3.1 innings, and Atlanta was down by just a run when he left the mound – though Strider’s efforts didn’t live up to his own lofty standards.

“I don’t enjoy failing, and certainly not at the expense of the team. We sent a pretty good guy down that was supposed to pitch in my spot, so that’s not lost on me. And it’s kind of the nature of the game. I think it’s important to have that perspective, that the goal is to win, and that takes 26 guys, and the guy who’s starting the game on the mound is a big component of going out and winning every day. So, if I can’t be better, I don’t need to be out there.

“I think everybody has that mentality at any position, and I’m going to have to work to be better. So, I certainly want to play. But I take no joy in not giving us a chance. So, if I don’t feel like I can’t provide for the team, then I don’t take much pleasure in losing games for us.”

–Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke-Imagn Images