Braves Not Optimistic About Spencer Strider After Arm Injury

NOTE: This story has been updated since initially published to reflect a developing story.

The Atlanta Braves must hold their breath once again this week, as another mainstay is faced with an apparent injury. Manager Walt Weiss confirmed Spencer Strider's right arm soreness, stating it was both shoulder and elbow.

He's set to get imaging done, and they'll go from there. Weiss didn't discuss any stints on the injured list quite yet, but he said that, at this time, it's not looking good.

"Obviously, something didn't look right that last inning," Weiss said.

He made it three-plus innings before the warning signs became all too clear. The telltale sign was a drastic drop in velocity.

His velocity was about where it's expected to be at the start of the game. In the first inning, he had no trouble maintaining a fastball velocity of 96 mph. After that, it started to decrease.

It was between 92 mph and 94 mph for a time, but by the bottom of the fourth, it was sitting below 90 mph. On the walk to MJ Melendez, the final batter he faced, he threw three fastballs, and they sat between 87.8 mph and 89.6 mph.

"That's what, you know, the alarms went off when we started seeing upper 80s on his fastball," Weiss said.

The right-hander allowed seven earned runs, including three home runs on the night. He threw 68 pitches.

JR Ritchie came into relieve Strider. He was called up to get innings where needed, and the time came for him to do so.

The Braves have already lost another star talent this week. Ronald Acuña Jr. found himself once again on the injury list with a left hamstring strain. It's grade one, but he could still be out for some time. There wasn't a timeline given.

Now, it could be Strider who misses time once again. He missed the start of the season due to an oblique injury that he sustained about a week before opening day.

Losing two key players in a week is tough, but this is a battle-tested team ready to make it through.

“We knew this stuff was going to happen at some point,” Weiss said. “You never know, you know, exactly what it's gonna be, but I always talk about the challenges of a major league season and the adversity and the major league season, and we had the right, we had the right guys in there to deal with stuff like this. It's a good group, and they show up every day really well.  So, we'll fight through it.”

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