The Atlanta Braves placed starting pitcher Spencer Strider on the 15-day injured list on Saturday after imaging revealed inflammation in his right elbow.
Strider departed midway through Friday night's game against the New York Mets with right shoulder and elbow soreness. He left one batter into the fourth after allowing six hits and a season-worst seven earned runs in three innings, including three home runs in the loss, and a noticeable drop in his velocity later in his outing.
"The alarm bells went off when we started seeing the upper 80s with his fastball," Braves manager Walt Weiss said after Friday's game.
Atlanta recalled righty Anthony Molina to take Strider's place on the roster.
Strider had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2019 and had the UCL in his right elbow repaired with an internal brace in April 2024.
Weiss said Strider let them know of the elbow and shoulder discomfort and that he wasn't aware of the reduced velocity. Strider walked off the mound after a short consultation.
Strider was making his eighth start of the season for the MLB-leading Braves after missing the first 34 games recovering from a strained left oblique. He is 4-2 with a 5.31 ERA this season and 11-16 with a 4.66 ERA since returning from the elbow surgery last year.
Strider was 32-10 with a 3.47 ERA in his first 67 big league appearances prior to the internal brace procedure. He became baseball's most recent 20-game winner in 2023, when he went 20-5 while reaching 200 strikeouts in 130 innings -- the fastest any pitcher has ever gotten to 200 whiffs in season.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.