Strider Stumbles Again as Braves Fall Flat in 8–3 Loss to D-Backs
Spencer Strider had another tough outing, Rafael Montero struggled late, and the Braves’ offense couldn’t get much going against Arizona ace Zac Gallen as Atlanta dropped the series opener 8–3.
The night started on a sour note for Strider, who gave up a 445-foot bomb to Ketel Marte on just his fourth pitch — a hanging 0-2 changeup that Marte crushed to right-center for a quick 1-0 D-backs lead. Ronald Acuña Jr. nearly answered in the bottom of the inning, but his deep drive was robbed at the wall by Corbin Carroll, setting the tone for a frustrating night at the plate.
Arizona kept the pressure on in the second, with Eugenio Suárez leading off with a double and scoring on a bloop single from Gabriel Moreno. Despite some hard-hit outs, Strider was fortunate to escape just down 2-0.
Things unraveled further in the third when Carroll singled and Marte struck again, this time launching a 3-0 fastball into the Chophouse seats for a 4-0 Arizona lead. Meanwhile, Gallen was cruising, keeping Braves hitters off balance.
The Braves finally showed signs of life in the fourth. Rookie of the Month Drake Baldwin got Atlanta on the board with a solo shot to right. Then, with two outs, Matt Olson singled and Marcell Ozuna reached on a costly error by Suárez that allowed Olson to score from first. Ozzie Albies followed with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
But just as momentum started to swing, Carroll responded again — hammering a 438-foot homer to right-center to make it 5-3 and end Strider’s night. The right-hander finished with 5 innings, 5 earned runs, 3 homers allowed, 4 strikeouts, and 2 walks. Most telling: Strider threw 39 four-seam fastballs — and got just one swing and miss. His fastball dominance is no longer a given.
The Braves threatened again in the 8th with two runners on, and Ozuna nearly gave them the lead with a 106 mph blast to deep center — but it was caught at the wall, the kind of near-miss that’s becoming all too familiar for this struggling club.
Any hope of a comeback vanished in the 9th when Montero took over. Two singles and another Carroll homer later, the game ballooned to 8-3. Atlanta went quietly in the bottom half, sealing their 10th loss in the last 14 games.
Now 27–32 and 10.5 games back in the NL East, the Braves are quickly running out of room for error. They’ll turn to Chris Sale tonight at 7:15 ET at Truist Park, hoping to snap out of this early-season tailspin against Arizona’s Merrill Kelly.
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