Atlanta Braves starter Spencer Strider is well-known as one of his own harshest critics and he had plenty to be upset about Tuesday night. The Mets were not fooled by Strider at all during their rout of the Braves and the eight runs over four innings of work was easily one of the worst starts of Strider's career. As for why it happened, Strider had some interesting thoughts on the matter.
Strider was far from making excuses after the game. While he thought his stuff was improved in quality over his previous start, he was the first to say that he made too many mistakes in certain counts and he also said at the end of the day, he is the one that is going to have to change something because his stuff isn't cutting it right now.
However, Strider also implied that he thinks the Mets (as well as other teams) may have realized that he is tipping his pitches somehow and taken advantage of it as well.
Spencer Strider thinks he may be tipping his pitches, but that is only part of the problem
While Strider couldn't point to anything specific he was showing, he may be on to something here. Of the 43 swings New York took against Strider, they only whiffed seven times. Not only is that wild considering how many whiffs Strider used to get and the fact that he was throwing 96-98 mph heat, but the quality of contact the Mets were making was extremely high.
Again, Strider wasn't accusing the Mets of cheating or anything. If you are tipping your pitches, that is on the pitcher and is well-within the bounds of the rules of the game to take advantage of. However, when Strider said, "They might be picking up on something. I mean, sequencing or … I don't know. Obviously my stuff's not exactly the same as it has been in years past.", he seems to think something strange is afoot.
However, Strider was 100% right to say that he is the one that has to improve. If hitters are getting such good looks against him, his stuff just isn't good enough regardless of what they know ahead of time. Hopefully he figures things out soon and the Braves' new rotation plans gives him the extra rest he may need. If that doesn't work, the last month and a half of the season or so could be very painful.