Spencer Strider looks Opening Day ready with complete dominance of Twins lineup

The Atlanta Braves are looking to come back stronger in 2024 after falling short against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS last year.

One of their key pieces is going to be right-hander Spencer Strider, who was the runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 behind his Braves teammate, Michael Harris II.

Strider took the ball today against the Minnesota Twins and absolutely dominated, fanning nine batters over five scoreless innings of work. He also only allowed two hits and one walk.

The right-hander had everything working as he carved up a masterpiece against the reigning AL Central champs.

Spencer Strider dominates Twins in spring start

Strider certainly looks ready for Opening Day, and this is a great sign for the Braves.

The team boasts a solid 1-2 punch at the top of its rotation with Strider and Max Fried. And Strider isn't looking any worse for wear after another strong season in 2023.

One pitch in particular that was working well for the hard-throwing right-hander was his slider. He used it to notch his seventh strikeout of the game in the top of the fourth. He even made use of his new curveball.

The Braves will be relying heavily on Strider as they look to put their NLDS loss behind them and compete for a championship in 2024.

He certainly looked good today, and though it's only a spring training game, this should be encouraging for Braves fans as the 2024 season looms.

The right-hander won 20 games and posted a 3.86 ERA and a 3.4 WAR in his 32 starts last year. He also logged 186.2 innings and recorded 281 strikeouts.

The Braves will certainly hope to see more of this during the regular season and for the remainder of their Grapefruit League games. Today's start was a major step forward for the right-hander.