Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider wasn’t looking for a feel-good moment. He wanted a win.

Strider allowed two runs and five hits in five-plus innings in his return to the mound against the Blue Jays on Wednesday in Toronto, but the Braves lost 3-1 to fall eight games below .500 at 5-13.

“My job isn’t to come back and have a moment and all that,” Strider said. “That’s not how I look at it. I’m here to help the team.”

Making his first big league appearance in 376 days because of surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Strider struck out five, walked one and hit a batter. He threw 97 pitches, 58 for strikes.

“He’s extremely important to our club and especially to our rotation,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s good to have him back.”

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two of the five hits off Strider, including an RBI single in the third inning and a solo home run in the sixth. The homer was Guerrero’s first.

Strider got ahead 0-2 with his first two pitches of the at-bat but couldn’t finish Guerrero off with any of his next five. Guerrero homered into the second deck on a full-count slider, a 412-foot drive.

“For me, didn’t do a good job of executing with two strikes,” Strider said. “Felt like my off-speed didn’t have a lot of conviction, a lot of consistency. That makes it hard to pitch.”

Strider followed the Guerrero homer by walking Anthony Santander. Snitker responded by replacing Strider with left-hander Dylan Lee.

“I think as he’s out there he’s going to get stronger,” Snitker said of Strider. “He’s got some moxie about him and competitiveness. He’s going to be fine.”

Strider struck out Bo Bichette on three pitches to begin the game. He threw his hardest pitch of the afternoon, a 98 mph fastball, to Guerrero in the first.

Strider struck out Myles Straw to strand runners at second and third to end the second.

Atlanta has gone 5-6 since starting 0-7 and has yet to win back-to-back games. The Braves are 2-11 on the road.

Yankees’ Gil delays throwing program

New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil is delaying the beginning of his throwing program because his strained right lat is healing slowly.

Gil was slated to start his throwing program on Wednesday or today, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone said an MRI showed the right-hander needs more time before progressing in his rehab.

“It’s just the level of healing,” Boone said before New York’s series finale against the Royals. “So, it’s got to get to, I don’t know, 80 percent. When they start, there are checkmarks of when you start the throwing program. It’s going how it should, it’s just we need another 10 days.”

Gil, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, stopped a bullpen session on Feb. 28 because of tightness in his pitching shoulder. He went to New York for a second MRI that revealed a high-grade lat strain on March 3.

Gil was shut down from throwing for at least six weeks after receiving the original diagnosis, and the Yankees said he would not return until June at the earliest.

The 26-year-old Gil went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts for the AL East champions last year.

Umpire Wendelstedt struck in face

Veteran umpire Hunter Wendelstedt went to a hospital for further examination after he was struck in the face behind first base by a line drive foul ball in Minnesota.

Crew chief Todd Tichenor, who called home plate during the 4-3 victory by the Twins over the New York Mets, told a pool reporter after the game that Wendelstedt was coherent and speaking but going through a concussion protocol.

“Hopefully it’s just some stitches is what I’m thinking,” Tichenor said.

Major League Baseball said Wendelstedt was undergoing additional tests.

White Sox DFA struggling Clevinger

The Chicago White Sox designated right-hander Mike Clevinger for assignment.

The 34-year-old Clevinger allowed three runs in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s 12-3 loss to the Athletics. He is 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in five appearances this year — all in relief after spending most of his career as a starter.

Clevinger signed with Chicago in free agency in December 2022, April 2024 and February. He is 9-14 with a 4.24 ERA in 28 starts and eight relief appearances with the White Sox.