Braves Briefing: Spencer Strider gets the best baseball advice from...his wife?

When facing information overload, the Braves hurler turned to a surprising source for guidance

Spencer Strider is a very cerebral pitcher - well versed in advanced analytics, he's used that knowledge to find the perfect combination of extension, release point, and approach angle to make both his fastball and slider into MLB's deadliest pairing and strike fear into the hearts of opposing lineups everywhere. 

But when he struggled earlier this month - just like every elite pitcher does at moments - he had to take a different approach. 

"I value input, sometimes too much,” the Braves hurler told reporters. “I like to feel like I have everything at my disposal, and I can learn from everything that's around me. But, you can get to the paralysis by analysis very quickly.”

He hit a speed bump in consecutive outings to New York (eight runs over four innings) and Detroit (three home runs in five innings), and that's when he turned away from his usual sources of advice in search of a different perspective. 

“Her message was, 'Don't listen to everybody that tells you something,'” Strider said. “Coming from her, that means a lot. She usually knows what she's talking about.”

It's a surprising source of help, as, in his own words, "This is a woman who didn’t know how many strikes were in a strikeout a few years ago,” Strider said. But he's come to appreciate her perspective: “When she says something about baseball, I listen.”

Well, if his last start against Philly is any indication, he seems to have righted whatever may have been wrong: Six innings of one-run baseball, with nine strikeouts and no walks. On the season, he's 8-2 with a 3.93 ERA and still leads all of baseball in both total strikeouts (136, in 84.2 innings) and strikeout rate (14.5 K/9).

NL East Standings

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Atlanta	49-27	--	@ Cincinnati
Miami	44-34	6.0	Hosts Pittsburgh
Philadelphia	39-37	10.0	Hosts Mets
Mets	35-41	14.0	@ Philadelphia
Washington	29-47	20.0	@ Padres

We Wrote It

Our own Noah Griffith wrote about Ronald Acuña Jr's proclivity at stolen bases this season, and how he's threatening the team's stolen base record and powering the offense to threaten the single season wins record:

At 48-27, the Braves have the best record in the NL and rank second in the MLB to the Rays. This isn’t just good – it has potential to be historic. Acuña is on pace for about 71 stolen bases, and the Braves are on pace to win 104 games – both ranking just below franchise records. Atlanta’s stolen base record is 72, held by Otis Nixon in 1991, and the franchise’s most regular-season wins was 106 in 1998.

Read the entire thing here: Ronny rocketing around the bases at historic rate

Highlights from yesterday's win versus Cincinnati

How to watch the series finale between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds on Sunday

First pitch from Great American Ball Park is at 1:40 PM ET, with Charlie Morton on the mound for the Braves. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports Southeast and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

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