Stredder (13K) Acuña (two-pointer) returned in time for the Warriors to regain their top spot in a critical period

Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. bring the Atlanta Warriors back to glory in 2023.

Stryde showed his first dominance since surgery to reconstruct his ulnar collateral ligament on his right elbow last year, while Acuña hit a seventh home run after three weeks of returning. The duo helped the Warriors beat Loki 4-1 at Truist Park today to make it three wins in a row.

Acuña's two-pointer in the second inning gave Stryde the advantage, who threw six games without conceding 13 strikeouts. It was the 18th double-digit strikeout performance in 60 starts of his career, 288 days after the previous one (19 September 2023). Rafael Montero and Dylan Lee combined for six strikeouts in the last three games, setting a team record of 19 strikeouts in a single game.

Strider had 13 strikeouts against 22 hitters and averaged 96.2 mph (a season-high after averaging 95.1 in the previous five races). Loki hitter swung his slider 23 times and 17 misses.

Stred is a team-record 281 strikeouts in 2023 as a favorite for the Young Award, but will be reimbursed for the second start in 2024 after undergoing ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery for the season. Five days after his comeback on April 17, he was re-entered the injury list due to a right hamstring strain, and after returning to the team for the second time, he had a starting self-blame rate of 5.85 in four games.

Acuña missed the final four months of last year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee for the second time in four years, but has a batting average of 0.387 and an attack index of 1.178 after the 2023 National League MVP returns.