Braves' Strider after rough outing: 'I've got to get better'

Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider had a blunt assessment of his effort during Tuesday's 8-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"Command without stuff is batting practice," Strider said after allowing five earned runs and three homers, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "That's about what I offered up today. I've got to be better, just to give us a chance."

Strider hasn't been the same since returning from a torn UCL in his elbow for the second time earlier this season. The 26-year-old is 0-4 with a 5.68 ERA and 6.39 FIP while allowing five homers in 19 innings, though he missed a month because of a strained hamstring. In 2023, he owned a 2.85 FIP with 281 strikeouts and 22 homers allowed in 186 2/3 innings.

The former 20-game winner believes the lack of command has been a big reason he's left pitches in places he doesn't want to, like he did against Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll before they hit home runs on Tuesday.

"Regardless of the hitter in the big leagues, they're going to do damage on those," Strider said. "I thought there were some streaks where I was really executing pitches and commanding the ball the way I wanted, but it doesn't take but one mistake to change the game."

He continued: "I don't think things are just going to get better on their own. I think you've got to intervene deliberately. It can be tough because you've got to prepare your body for a start in five days. So you can't just crush reps on anything until things improve. But I do have the ability and the knowledge to make things better in the next five days."