On Thursday night, Spencer Striderthe Atlanta Braves rookie start with a mustache, breaking the franchise record previously held by the Hall of Famer.
Strider is almost impossible to resist Colorado Rockies16-stick fan to surpass the legendary John Smoltz (15) for most K’s in a Braves pitcher game.
The 23-year-old was arguably his best game of the season on Thursday against the Rockies.
Strider had 8.0 innings, his longest outing in 2022, allowing only two hits and no walk in a 3-0 Braves win.
According to Jason Catania of MLB.com, Strider is the 30th pitcher in baseball history to hit 16 or more shots in a game without a hitter.
Strider is the youngest player to achieve the feat since Mark Prior did for the Chicago Cubs in 2003.
After the game, Strider admitted he lost the number of shots he had after the fifth inning, but teammates Kyle Wright was there to follow up.
“I left the game and Kyle was telling me something about John Smoltz or whatever,” Strider told reporters. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s a myth, people have joined this organization, it’s an amazing, long list. I’m just grateful to be here and successful.”
Strider is 9-4 this season, with an ERA of 2.67 in 28 games (17 starts) for the Braves.
