NEW YORK -- Spencer Strider exited his start during the Braves’ 7-5 loss to the Mets at Citi Field Friday night in the fourth inning, after a leadoff walk against MJ Melendez prompted manager Walt Weiss and a trainer to call a mound visit and check on the right-hander. After a bit of discussion, with the whole infield joining for the visit, Strider walked off with the trainer. The Braves later announced that Strider left the game with soreness in both his right elbow and shoulder.
JR Ritchie, the Braves’ No. 2 prospect who was recalled to the Majors on Wednesday, replaced Strider and pitched five scoreless innings. Strider's night ended with a line of seven earned runs allowed on six hits in three-plus innings, notching just three strikeouts with one walk (and one hit batter).
Strider left the ballpark for MRI imaging on Friday night, with no decision made on if he would need a stint on the injured list until the images returned. However, Weiss was not necessarily optimistic, saying postgame, “It doesn’t look great as we stand here, right now.”
The on-field results are the results, but what was on the forefront of both Weiss and his players’ minds was the health of the right-hander who had been grinding to reclaim a piece of his old form.
“He’s been through a lot … in the past few years trying to work his way back,” Weiss said. “And we’ve seen some glimpses of it. He’s done a nice job for us this year, and there was a lot of hope. We saw him in the outing he had in L.A., [he] was just lights out. He looked just like old Spencer.”
“It’s terrible because Spencer’s a really great guy, a great teammate,” Ritchie said. “He’s been a great mentor to me. I hate to see him go down. It’s just really unfortunate, he’s a really big part of this team and this organization.”
Strider's eighth outing in his comeback from a left oblique muscle strain during Spring Training got off to a disjointed start, with a one hour and 16 minute rain delay pushing first pitch back. After striking out leadoff batter Carson Benge with three straight fastballs, Strider gave up back-to-back home runs to Bo Bichette and Juan Soto.
In the following inning, Strider retired the first two batters, but then allowed two straight hits to Melendez and Luis Torrens at the bottom of the order before hitting Benge with a 93.8 mph fastball. Strider left a 94.2 mph fastball over the plate to Bichette, who hit an opposite-field grand slam.
Strider threw 68 pitches before being removed, with 43 of them going for strikes. Compared to his season average, the velocity was down on three of his four pitches: four-seam fastball (1.6 mph lower), slider (1.1 mph) and curveball (2.6 mph). His velocity on all four of his pitches dropped steadily in each inning of work. The last fastball that he threw to Melendez was an 87.8 mph called strike.
The plummeting velocity over Strider’s three-plus innings was what prompted Weiss and the trainer to check on the right-hander.
“He talked about how his shoulder and elbow weren’t feeling very good,” Weiss said. “And he wasn’t even aware of the drop in velocity. [When we got out there], he said, ‘What is it?’ Yeah, at that point, there’s no point to go on.”
Ritchie made his first appearance for Atlanta since taking the loss in a four-inning start against the Marlins on May 18, in which he gave up six runs (five earned). Ritchie’s return this time around went much better when the Braves called on him to deliver a long-relief appearance in a time of need.
After Ritchie allowed the inherited runner Melendez to score on a sacrifice fly from Bichette in the fourth, he settled in to blank the Mets the rest of the way, simultaneously saving the Braves' bullpen in a pinch. Ritchie finished with five strikeouts, while giving up just two hits and two walks.
“Ritchie was outstanding,” Weiss said. “Man, that’s maybe as good as I’ve seen him this year with us.”
Ritchie made three starts after being sent back down to Triple-A Gwinnett, with the last being a six-inning, two-run performance on June 5. The demotion acted as an opportunity for Ritchie to reset and become comfortable on the mound again, as he entered Friday with a 4.56 ERA in five MLB starts this season.
It’s still to be determined if Ritchie will slot into the rotation with Strider’s absence looming, or if he’ll stick in the long-relief role. But what’s most important is that the young righty feels better suited to settle into whatever the Braves ask of him.
“It was definitely good to be back, I felt a lot more like myself,” Ritchie said. “That was a big emphasis coming back, trusting myself and my process and my routines. Trusting who I am on the mound, not giving in.”