Atlanta Braves News: Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider were the stars of the 4-0 victory of the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. Harris has mentioned that he thinks he has some of his best performances with Strider on the mound. We take a look at the numbers to see if they have recency bias or if Harris II really is better with Strider on the bump.
Spencer Strider improved his record to 14-4 with a magnificent outing against the Giants on Friday night. Strider pitched seven innings allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out 10 Giants. He lowered his ERA to 3.57 on the year. Meanwhile, Michael Harris II backed him up with a 4-5 performance, ending up a homer short of the cycle.
After the game, Harris had this to say.
"I remember the last time -- I told you whenever he pitches, I feel like I have a big night and he does too,” Harris said. “Dang. Now that you say that, that explains the night. He’s phenomenal. I love playing behind him. And I’m glad we’ll be teammates here for a long time."Michael Harris II
Michael Harris and Spencer Strider finished first and second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022. Harris took home the hardware and Strider settled for second place. The two came up together last season and it seems their bond goes beyond debuting in the same season.
"He needs to relax a little or at least start giving me some of his pay every five days because something about me pitching is helping him play." 😂
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) August 26, 2023
— @SpencerSTRIDer on @MoneyyyMikeee always having standout performances on his start days pic.twitter.com/jEdt5aKVZ7
Both players have already been signed to long-term extensions with Atlanta and make up a part of the promising young core the Braves have in place. But there seems to be some magic in the air when Strider pitches... Harris hits.
Is this just recency bias since Harris has been hitting everything the past couple of months or is he actually out performing his stats?
I took the time to manually look up the numbers for a couple of reasons. Number one, I know you want to know these numbers. Number two, I love you. You don't want to miss the results on the next page.