Process-driven and nearing readiness, Spencer Strider is what Braves need

“Honestly, I would rather have a game where I don’t have a feel for everything, especially not all at once,” Strider said. “I think there were a couple times, a couple innings where I felt confident about every pitch and every spot, but I would classify this as more of a grind — relying on my fastball, some sliders here and there, a change-up, too.”

Accepting the challenge, Strider could scarcely have delivered better results against the Nashville Sounds at Coolray Field. Given a 75-pitch allowance, the Braves ace didn’t toss the last of them until he was two batters into the sixth inning. He didn’t allow a run or even a hit, striking out eight and walking two. Throwing to catcher Sean Murphy, who also is rehabbing in Gwinnett after cracking his left rib in spring training, Strider took particular pleasure in making his pitches count.

“I don’t know what the plan is going forward,” he said. “I just know that getting into the sixth (Friday) was really good.

Without consistent command and having to depend on his experience and competitiveness, Strider still had Nashville’s lineup at his mercy.

Strider’s embrace of the grind represents the sort of mentality that the team he will rejoin before long has to make its own, as well.

As you may have heard, the Braves will have to make history in order to make the postseason. No team has ever made the playoffs after starting 0-7, as the Braves did before beating Miami in their home opener Friday. In fact, no team has started the season 0-7 and finished with a winning record since 1983, when the Houston Astros won 85 games after starting 0-9.

The determination and patience that Strider has shown in his return from surgery to repair his damaged ulnar collateral ligament is what the Braves will need in their own monthslong battle.

It’s possible that the Braves will catch fire and surge above .500 before the end of April, but it’s hardly likely.

Hence, the best approach for the Braves at this point is to take the long-sighted, process-oriented perspective that Strider lives by.

Asked about his loss-laden team, Strider gave the most Spencer Strider answer possible.

“I think it’s great that there’s been some adversity,” he said. “I know it’s tough and those guys were out there (in California) — I wasn’t out there — but that stuff makes you stronger. So I say, ‘Bring it on.‘”

To capture their eighth consecutive playoff berth, it most likely will have to be a day-by-day slog to get there. Fortunately for them, they’ve got a slog expert returning to Truist Park.

Said Strider, “I’m excited to get back out there and help with that quest of trying to be the best version of ourselves every day and regardless of what the circumstances are.”

The plan is for Strider to have a fifth rehab outing this coming week in which he pushes his limit to 90 pitches.

After that, Stripers manager Kanekoa Texeira told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before Friday’s game, “Hopefully, we get to see him in the big leagues helping the team out a little bit.”

For Strider, that won’t be the end of the comeback. In fact, Strider eschews the notion that it’s a comeback at all, saying that reverting to who you once were is an impossible task. In his mind, he is in the process of becoming something new and better, an evolution that will take time.

For instance, his velocity, which before the injury could exceed 100 mph, may not reach that plateau anytime soon. (He hit 96 consistently Friday.)

There are steps to take before that.

“I’m not even a year off surgery,” Strider said. “I think strikes, endurance, how my body feels, mechanics, just attacking through the course of a game — those are the most important things to me right now.”

A team in need of his effectiveness, grit and patience eagerly awaits his return and adversity-embracing example.