The Atlanta Braves got their series against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals off to a great start with a big win on Friday behind another dominant performance by Spencer Strider.
In what could be a potential postseason preview, the Atlanta Braves won game one of a three-game series in St. Louis on Friday 11-4.
Spencer Strider got the start on the mound going up a very good Cardinals lineup; although, they’ll be without Nolan Arenado for the weekend as he’s on the paternity list.
The Braves rookie starter allowed just 1 earned run on 6 hits and 1 walk over 6 innings with 7 strikeouts in 102 pitches.
He also hit a batter, which was the long runner that came around to score.
It was the fourth time this year he’s thrown over 100 pitches, and the second time he’s done it in back-to-back outings.
Among rookie pitchers, Strider is second in innings, second in wins, and first in strikeouts.
As far as ERA and WHIP go, among rookie pitchers with at least 70 innings pitched he’s first in ERA (2.87) and WHIP (1.03). That includes a group of 12 rookie pitchers.
Many believe Michael Harris II will win the NL Rookie of the Year, but if ever there was justification for co-Rookie of the Year it would be this season.
Braves Offense Unloads
It ended up being a laugher, but it was a 2-1 game through 5.5 innings before the Braves ended up scoring 11 runs on 16 hits.
The big hit came in the sixth inning by William Contreras who cleared the bases with a 3-RBI double to blow the game open.
They had 3 runs in the 8th and 3 in the 9th as the Cardinals actually brought out a position player to finish the game.
Austin Riley was the only player not to get a hit, but he did walk three times.
Contreras had his first-career four-hit game, while Matt Olson picked up 3 hits — all of them with exit velos north of 105 MPH.
Maybe most impressive is the Braves’ offense was able to do all of this without the benefit of a home run.
Jackson Stephens was unable to close things out in the ninth of an 11-1 game and actually took a line drive off his forhead.
He got up immediately and seemed alright walking off the field, but certainly, hope he is OK.
The Braves and Cardinals will face off again on Saturday night as Charlie Morton takes on Jordan Montgomery.