ATLANTA — In the heat of battle during the Atlanta Braves' eventual loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night at Truist Park, Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider was caught on camera having an intense conversation with pitching coach Rick Kranitz. However, Strider told reporters after the game that seeing is not always believing.
You can see from the video below that Strider was indeed emotional after leaving the game after throwing 94 pitches through 7.0 innings where he allowed just two runs (one earned), but found his Braves losing the game.
So what was Strider discussing with Kranitz? Some of the words shared between the two didn't even have to do with the game or baseball, the right-hander told reporters inside the Braves clubhouse.
Spencer Strider blows off context of emotional moment in dugout during Atlanta Braves loss
"I was having a personal conversation with him," Strider said. "Unfortunately for me, sometimes my conversations are on camera, and I'm guilty of showing emotion when I speak at times.
"Just having a conversation with Kraney. Some of it wasn't even about baseball."
Whatever the conversation was about, Braves fans were certainly not pleased by the turn of events that happened once Strider was pulled from the game. Down 2-0 as A.J. Minter took over for Strider, the Phillies added another run on a controversial eighth-inning catcher's interference call that had Truist Park in an uproar. The game had to be delayed for a short period after the call was reviewed and stood, with fans throwing empty beer bottles and other items onto the field in protest.
While fans may point to that as a key moment in the game, Strider took some of the loss on his own shoulders after his throwing error in the fourth on a pickoff attempt allowed Bryce Harper to move to second and eventually score on Bryson Scott's RBI single.
"Unfortunately, that was all that they needed," Strider said. "Scoring first is huge, so I hate that I deprived us of that opportunity."
Atlanta, however, didn't score all night, marking just the third time in 2023 that the Braves have been blanked. It was also the first time Atlanta had not scored at Truist Park since August 28, 2021.
