TORONTO — Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider wasn’t looking for a feel-good moment. He wanted a win.
Turns out the home team did, too.
Strider allowed two runs and five hits in five-plus innings in his return to an MLB mound Wednesday afternoon, but the Braves lost 3-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays to fall eight games below .500 at 5-13 overall this season, including 2-11 on the road.
“My job isn’t to come back and have a moment and all that,” Strider said. “That’s not how I look at it. I’m here to help the team.”
Making his first appearance in a Major League Baseball game in 376 days because of surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Strider struck out five batters, walked one and hit another as he threw 97 pitches (58 for strikes).
“He’s extremely important to our club and especially to our rotation,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of the 26-year-old Strider, who made his MLB debut in October 2021 and was an All-Star in 2023. “It’s good to have him back.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two of the five hits off Strider, including an RBI single in the third inning and a solo home run in the sixth. Before the homer, Strider got ahead 0-2 with his first two pitches of the at-bat but couldn’t finish Guerrero off with any of his next five. Guerrero went deep and into the second deck on a full-count slider, a 412-foot drive.
“For me, didn’t do a good job of executing with two strikes,” Strider said. “Felt like my offspeed didn’t have a lot of conviction, a lot of consistency. That makes it hard to pitch.”
The homer was Guerrero’s first of the season and helped the Blue Jays wrap up a series win as they took two of three against the Braves, with Toronto’s 6-3 victory on Tuesday following Atlanta’s 8-4 triumph on Monday. The Blue Jays are 11-8 overall and in first place in the American League East Division, while the Braves sit at the bottom of the National League East, where they won six straight titles from 2018 to 2023 before reaching the playoffs last year as a wild card.
Strider followed Guerrero’s homer by walking Anthony Santander. Snitker responded by replacing Strider with left-hander Dylan Lee.
“I think as he’s out there he’s going to get stronger,” Snitker said of Strider. “He’s got some moxie about him and competitiveness. He’s going to be fine.”
Strider struck out Bo Bichette on three pitches to begin the game. He also threw his hardest pitch of the afternoon, a 98 mph fastball, to Guerrero in the first.
Strider struck out Myles Straw to strand runners at second and third to end the second inning. Bichette doubled to begin the third, and Guerrero followed with a ground-ball single to center to drive in the game’s first run.
“To give up the first run, it’s obviously a big momentum swing,” Strider said. “It just kind of puts us in a defensive position, and I don’t want to do that.”
The Braves activated Strider off the injured list Wednesday morning and optioned right-handed reliever Zach Thompson to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers in a corresponding roster move.
Atlanta has gone 5-6 since starting 0-7 and has yet to win back-to-back games this season.
“We’re not in a great position at the moment,” Strider acknowledged. “That’s fine. It’s still early in the season. People want to doubt us, that’s great. Bring it on.”
Toronto starter Chris Bassitt (2-0) struck out a season-high 10 batters and allowed three hits, all singles, while pitching five scoreless innings. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 0.77 through four starts.
Bassitt finished his outing by striking out Braves slugger Austin Riley to strand runners at second and third. After homering three times in the first two games of the series, Riley went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in the finale.
Jeff Hoffman gave up Atlanta rookie Drake Baldwin’s first career homer in the ninth inning, but the Blue Jays reliever finished for his fourth save in as many opportunities this year.
Blue Jays pitchers set a franchise record for most strikeouts in a single game (nine innings) with 19.
Despite the result, Strider’s return could eventually give the Braves a big lift. He went 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 2023, leading the majors with 281 strikeouts in 186 2/3 innings and placing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting.
Strider had last appeared in the majors on April 5, 2024, against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Atlanta. He made two starts last season before undergoing surgery.
Strider struck out 13 batters in 5 1/3 innings in a dominant final rehab start last Thursday for the Stripers, allowing one run and three hits. He threw 90 pitches (62 for strikes) and reached 97 mph with his fastball.
Atlanta is off Thursday before beginning a homestand that will last six games — three each against the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals. Right-handers are scheduled to start for both teams in Friday’s opener at Truist Park as Bryce Elder (0-1, 7.20 ERA) gets the ball for the Braves and the Twins counter with Chris Paddack (0-2, 9.49).