Braves Report: Guess who’s back?

Uh-oh. Guess what day it is. Guess what day. It. Is.

Ah? Anybody?

Julie, guess what day it is? C’mon, I know you can hear me.

Mike. Mike. Mike. Mike. Mike. What day is it, Mike?

Leslie, guess what today is?

It’s hump day — whoop whoop. And Spencer Strider Day, too.

TODAY’S MATCHUP

Apologies for so thoroughly re-creating an old Geico commercial … but it’s Spencer Strider Day in Toronto! Right about now! Turn on the TV!

📺 How to watch: 1:07 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Network.

⚾ The pitching duel: You know who vs. Chris Bassitt (1-0, 0.98 ERA)

😯 Weird but true: The Braves are 41-13 in Strider’s career starts. Between 2022 and 2023 (Strider’s last full seasons), only three pitchers saw their team win more of their starts. One of them was Bassitt.

📝 The starting lineup:

WELCOME BACK, KING

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Spencer Schwellenbach surrendered five runs in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays, marking one of his worst outings since bursting onto the scene last season.

But that’s in the past, baby — today it’s the other Spencer’s turn.

Finally.

AJC beat reporter Justin Toscano is live in Toronto for Strider’s first major league start since undergoing elbow surgery two appearances into last season.

😎 He summed up the vibes thusly: “This has been a long time coming and everyone is excited. Looking back now, Strider’s rehab was almost exactly 12 months to the day of his surgery — which was expected because the internal brace procedure allows pitchers to return sooner than a traditional Tommy John surgery.

“Strider has been careful and meticulous throughout his rehab, but now it’s time to let it fly. He does a very good job of being present and detaching from the external parts of the moment, but he’ll have some emotion today, I would think.”

😎 Strider’s return should also provide a kick in the rear for a team that started 0-7 — and has alternated wins and losses since.

A quick recap of Strider’s three rehab starts with Triple-A Gwinnett: 13⅔ innings, two runs allowed … and 27 strikeouts.

Certainly seems like he’s ready to go! But if you want a much nerdier look at Strider’s stuff, I recommend this missive from MLB.com.

😎 The short version: He’s still working toward max fastball velocity, but that sucker’s moving. His slider produced a silly 62% swing-and-miss rate in the minors. And did you remember he added a curveball to the arsenal before he got hurt last year?

Can’t wait to watch.

ACUÑA UPDATE

In case you missed it, here’s a post from Justin closing the loop on the rehab status of another big-name Brave:

“Ronald Acuña Jr. was cleared to ramp up activity and begin progressing toward a rehab assignment. No timetable, but seems like he’s on schedule to return at some point in the next month, as we’d originally thought.”

RE: WILEY BALLARD

Yesterday I asked y’all to chime in on the situation involving Wiley Ballard, the Braves dugout reporter for FanDuel Sports Network who got a woman’s phone number live on air (at the encouragement of the other two fellas on the broadcast team).

A few dozen of you did reach out — and all but a few were OK with the interaction.

🗣️ Reader Penny’s comments were pretty emblematic: “Why does everything have to be evaluated? Life should be fun. People and things are too serious now.”

Which is fair! And, generally speaking, how I roll, too. But AJC lifestyle columnist Nedra Rhone’s latest piece pretty well sums up the journalist’s perspective.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Credit: Matt Austin/Columbus Clingstones

Credit: Matt Austin/Columbus Clingstones

Here’s a photo and a short video clip of Craig Kimbrel during his first appearance with the Double-A Columbus Clingstones (a clingstone being a type of peach; fantastic name).

The former Atlanta closer threw a scoreless eighth inning in his first action with a Braves affiliate since 2014.

Thanks for reading Braves Report. Tell a friend — and maybe give the AJC’s Sports Daily newsletter a shot, too.

Until next time.