NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider will start the season on the injured list because of a strained oblique, the team announced Monday.

Strider had been scheduled to start in Monday’s spring training finale against Pittsburgh before being scratched. Braves manager Walt Weiss told reporters the team is hopeful Strider will miss only a couple of weeks.

The 27-year-old Strider is aiming to take another step forward now that he’s two years removed from right elbow surgery. Strider missed most of 2024 and returned to the majors last year, going 7-14 with a 4.45 ERA in 23 starts.

He went 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA in 8 1/3 innings of work in spring training for the Braves as he tries to regain the form he showed in 2023, when the All-Star led the majors with 20 victories and 281 strikeouts.

The injury is the latest setback for Atlanta’s pitching staff, which already has seen starters Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep placed on the 60-day injured list following elbow surgery.

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