Braves’ Spencer Strider Sets MLB Record in Win Over Phillies

The Atlanta pitcher stands alone in MLB history following Sunday’s performance.

Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider continued his torrid start to the season on Sunday during Atlanta’s Sunday Night Baseball clash against the rival Phillies. 

Strider struck out nine batters across six innings of work, surrendering two runs and two hits. His nine strikeouts brought him above the century mark for the season, as he’s now registered 106 punchouts on the year. 

He’s also the first pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts this season, and also became the fastest to do so in major league history, dating all the way back to at least 1893, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. (That was the year the pitching mound was moved back to the current distance of 60’6” from home plate.)

Strider required just 61 innings on the mound to reach 100 K’s, breaking the record previously held by Jacob deGrom, who recorded his 100th strikeout after 61 2/3 innings in 2021. 

Fastest to 100 strikeouts in AL/NL history since 1893
Strider 61 IP (2023)
deGrom 61 2/3 IP (2021)
Bieber 62 1/3 (2020)
Burnes 62 2/3 (2021)
deGrom 63 (2022) 
Scherzer 63 (2018)

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 29, 2023

Strider’s new record of 100 strikeouts in 61 innings puts him ahead of the likes of Shane Bieber (62 1/3), Corbin Burnes (62 2/3), and Max Scherzer (63). 

Strider has recorded nine or more strikeouts in all but two of his 11 starts this season. He leads the majors in strikeouts by a wide margin this season ahead of Angels star Shohei Ohtani, who leads the AL with 90.

It’s not difficult to see why hitters struggle against Atlanta’s flamethrowing righty. Footage from right behind home plate shows just how devastating his 97-plus-mph fastball can be to handle. And his slider is no joke, either. 

Spencer Strider's Slider & Fastball (back to back/home plate views) pic.twitter.com/B6yA9w4y59

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 29, 2023

The 24-year-old Strider boasts a 2.97 ERA and 0.99 WHIP across his first 63.2 innings pitched in 2023. He earned the victory Sunday to improve to 5-2 as the Braves topped the Phillies, 11-4.