Spencer Strider: Everything you need to know

Strider (oblique) did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing three runs on four hits and five walks over 3.1 innings against the Rockies. He struck out six. Strider made his first start of the season after opening on the injured list with a left oblique strain and struggled to consistently find the zone, throwing 48 of 87 pitches for strikes and issuing five free passes. It wasn't a strong outing for the right-hander, who also allowed a homer to TJ Rumfield in the third inning, but Strider did strike out six and simply being back on a big-league mound is a step in the right direction. After posting a 4.45 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with a 131:51 K:BB across 125.1 regular-season innings (23 starts) in 2025, the 27-year-old is looking to return closer to his form from 2022 and 2023 prior to injuries. Strider is tentatively scheduled to start Saturday against the Dodgers, though how Atlanta manages his workload will be worth monitoring.

Atlanta reinstated Strider (oblique) from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday's game at Colorado. The right-hander has missed the first month-plus of the regular season while working his way back from an oblique strain, but he's ready to make his first big-league appearance of the year after a three-start rehab assignment. Strider built up to 82 pitches and five innings during his final rehab outing, so his workload shouldn't be significantly limited in his 2026 debut. In his return from internal brace surgery on his elbow last year, Strider had an up-and-down campaign with a 4.45 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 131:51 K:BB across 125.1 innings.

Strider (oblique) will return from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday's game against the Rockies at Coors Field, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. Strider's left oblique checked out fine following his third and final minor-league rehab start last Sunday with Triple-A Gwinnett, setting the stage for the right-hander to make his 2026 debut with the big club. The 27-year-old gets a less-than-ideal landing spot for his first start with Atlanta in hitter-friendly Colorado, but he should be in line for relatively standard workload. He upped his pitch count to 82 and covered five innings in his final rehab outing.