The Atlanta Braves have reached an exciting portion of their schedule as they look to get back into the National League East division race. Entering Monday in third place and five games back of the New York Mets, the Braves will open a three-game series with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday before beginning a three-game weekend series at Truist Park with the San Diego Padres on Friday.
While the upcoming slate carries plenty of excitement, so does the return of ace Spencer Strider. The Braves hurler has been on the mend with a hamstring injury and it produced a big announcement ahead of Tuesday’s opener in Washington.
The#Bravestoday reinstated RHP Spencer Strider from the injured list.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves)May 19, 2025
Braves Activate Spencer Strider Ahead of Series With Nationals
The Braves announced on Monday morning that they are activating Strider ahead of tomorrow’s series opener with the Nationals. It is unknown which game Strider will pitch but the Braveshave not announced their starterfor Tuesday’s opener while AJ Smith-Shawver is scheduled to start on Wednesday and Chris Sale is slated to start Thursday’s finale.
If Strider makes his return on Tuesday, it will be a long time coming. Strider underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2024 and made his way back to the Braves rotation in April. His return lasted just one start, however, as heleft an April 16 start against the Toronto Blue Jayswith a hamstring injury.
Strider’s return will be a positive development if he can stay on the mound. The right-hander was one of the best starters in baseball, going 31-10 with a 3.36 ERA and 37.3% strikeout rate from 2022 to 2023. He made his first All-Star appearance and finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting in 2023 and was looking to build on it before getting hurt in his second start last season.
While his return against Toronto was short-lived, he looked like himself, striking out five batters and issuing a walk in the loss to the Blue Jays. But with Sale heating up, Smith-Shawver breaking out andRonald Acuña Jr.’s returncoming later this month, the Braves arrow is pointing up, giving fans plenty of reasons to be excited.
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