ATLANTA -- It was one of those nights where you just wanted to continue watching Spencer Strider pitch. But it was also one of those nights where letting him go a little longer likely wouldn’t have altered the result.

Strider constructed one of the most impressive starts of his young glowing career. But his excellence was topped by Chris Bassitt, who tossed his second-career shutout as the Blue Jays claimed a 3-0 win over the Braves on Friday night at Rogers Centre.

“It just shows you that there’s really not one way that works,” Blue Jays right fielder George Springer said. “Bassitt tonight was incredible, and Strider was electric.”

Springer’s two-out RBI single in the fifth proved to be enough for Bassitt, who tallied eight strikeouts while surrendering just two hits over nine innings. This gem bested the dominance Strider showed as he tallied 12 strikeouts and allowed two runs over 6 2/3 innings.

Strider set a career high with 32 swings and misses and became just the sixth pitcher since 1900 to tally nine double-digit strikeout games within his first 28 starts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other pitchers to do this were Dwight Gooden (13 times), Hideo Nomo (11), Bob Feller (10), Kerry Wood (nine) and Al Downing (nine).

But Strider’s effort went for naught, a result the Braves can’t afford to realize too frequently as they spend at least the next two months without Max Fried and Kyle Wright in their rotation.

“[Strider] pitched great,” Braves catcher Sean Murphy said. “It’s hard to get him a win when we don’t score. He did his job.”

Strider ended his career-high 110-pitch night by striking out Whit Merrifield with a 97.7 mph fastball. With two outs, a runner on second base and the Blue Jays leading 1-0, Braves manager Brian Snitker removed his flamethrower in favor of lefty Danny Young, who was promoted from Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday.

Young issued two walks, and then a passed ball was charged to Murphy that plated a run. As the Braves pushed Strider into the seventh and then opted to go with Young, it seemed like they might be prepping for another bullpen game on Sunday.

They might end up going this route in an attempt to persevere with a fractured rotation. But Snitker said this didn’t influence his decisions.

So why was Young used in this high-leverage situation?

Snitker wanted a left-on-left matchup against Kevin Keirmaier with two outs in the seventh. Dylan Lee was down after throwing 2 2/3 innings as an opener on Wednesday, and A.J. Minter had thrown in a couple of high-stress situations earlier this week.

Snitker didn’t want to risk Strider getting into a long plate appearance against Kiermaier, so he opted not to give him one more batter in the one-run game.

“I felt great,” Strider said. “I could have kept going if I could have kept getting outs. It’s my job to be out there until they take the ball away. So as long as they let me pitch, I’ll pitch.”

How good was Strider?

Strider’s 32 swings and misses bested the previous high of 31 he had produced against the Marlins on April 24.

The Blue Jays whiffed with 16 of the 21 swings taken against his slider. This bested his previous career high of 15, which he produced during his 16-strikeout game against the Rockies on Sept. 1, 2022.

“The slider is something I felt like I made great improvement with during the last outing, and I was glad to carry it over tonight,” Strider said. “But you know, I probably should have thrown one more.”

Springer struck out in his first two plate appearances against sliders and then delivered his decisive fifth-inning single against an elevated 0-2 fastball. Focusing on this one pitch and lamenting not throwing another slider during an otherwise flawless night is a product of that competitive fire that sets Strider apart.

“The bad ones always stick out the most, right?” Strider said. “It seems like the nights when things are going the best is when those are that much more frustrating.”