1st SPRING START: Spencer Strider strikes out 6 in 1st game in 346 DAYS (Spring Training highlights)

April 5th last year, that was the second and final start of the season for Spencer Strider. Shut down, had the surge here on April 12th. So I'm sure for him, this is a special feeling here coming out today. It is. I'm not sure there's a picture though on this staff who has better control of their emotions than Spencer Strider. That'll be interesting to watch for him as he's back on what we'll call a big league mound here, even though it is only spring training for the first time, as you mentioned, since April 5th. For the first time in 346 days, Spencer Strider throws a pitch in a big league ball game. And it's a routine ground out to Ozzie Maulby. Wow, four pitches, already a ground out and a strikeout, and there are two away. Those back-to-back sliders from Spencer Strider. This is a perfect 0-2. It looks like it's going to be a strike. It finishes outside of the strike zone. It gets Vaughn Gerson to chase it. Welcome back, Spencer Strider! 1-2-3, near perfect in the first. And he struck him out. Three straight strikeouts for Spencer Strider. Well, he goes back to the slider, but makes this one a little bit smaller and a little bit tighter. You saw the big one that was out of the zone, almost cutter-like action, how tight and late that it was. Wow. I can't help but laugh. This is so fun to watch. It is so good to see Strider back out there. This is the curveball here, and this is a really encouraging sign, because we have seen every pitch here so far this afternoon. We've seen them all for strikes, and I was confident in throwing each of those pitches. What a return for Strider. Six up, six down, and he struck out the final five. Just like old times with our old friend. 19 pitches, only three balls, and he will now face the bottom three in the order for Boston. Down the left field line, hanging in the air, and long enough for Riley to hustle over and make the play. It's a tough play today. You've got a couple of things working against you. The wind, as you talked about, is making these fly balls a little bit of a challenge. You also have some sun that you have to battle as well, but Austin's so good on that play, makes it look easy. Seven straight retired, and now Strider will face Trace Thompson, and he's going down on three pitches. This is the slider here from Spencer Strider, and a good one. He absolutely painted his fastball in this at-bat, and he comes back with a terrific slider to go with it. That is going to be it, and it could not have been any better for Spencer Strider. Six strikeouts, eight up, eight down, and the crowd here appreciates him being back.