BRISTOL − Spencer Strider will not start for the Atlanta Braves against the Cincinnati Reds in the MLB Speedway Classic following a lengthy rain delay.
Strider, who pitched at CAK in Knoxville, is 5-8 with a 3.71 ERA since making his season debut in mid-April. He has 92 strikeouts in 77⅔ innings.
Austin Cox will start instead against the Reds in the game which is expected to resume at 9:40 p.m. ET. It entered a rain delay at 7:19 p.m., five minutes before the expected first pitch. Cox has thrown eight innings in six appearances. The left-handed pitcher has a 2.25 ERA with 11 strikeouts in eight innings.
Chase Burns, the Reds rookie who pitched at Tennessee in 2022 and 2023, is still starting for Cincinnati as expected. Burns is 0-3 with a 6.26 ERA since rapidly ascending to the major leagues with the Reds, who picked him No. 2 overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. He has 45 strikeouts in 27⅓ innings. He has struck out at least 10 in three straight starts.
Strider pitched at Clemson following his high school career in Knoxville, where he was the Gatorade Tennessee Baseball Player of the Year during the 2016-17 high school season.
He went an undefeated 13-0 on the mound as a senior while recording 150 strikeouts and holding opposing hitters to a .118 batting average. He was drafted in the 35th round of the 2017 MLB Draft before attending Clemson. The Braves selected Strider in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft and he reached the major leagues in the 2021 season.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.