Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Takes loss Saturday
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Liberatore (3-4) allowed an unearned run on two hits and struck out two over one inning, taking the loss Saturday versus the Giants. He did not issue a walk.
Liberatore gave up the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and the Cardinals weren't able to make a comeback. Over his last 13 innings, Liberatore has allowed nine runs (eight earned) with a 10:4 K:BB. He's filled a number of roles this year with mediocre results, pitching to a 4.40 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 76:28 K:BB across 86 innings spanning 60 outings (six starts).
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Shaky in spot start
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Liberatore (2-3) took the loss Wednesday, coughing up five runs on four hits and three walks over three-plus innings as the Cardinals were downed 5-0 by the Pirates. He struck out three.
The southpaw got a spot start at the end of a stretch of six games in five days for St. Louis, but Liberatore hadn't pitched since July 14 and looked rusty as Pittsburgh ambushed him for four runs in the second inning, before he served up a solo shot to Rowdy Tellez to lead off the fourth. Liberatore tossed 69 pitches (43 strikes) before exiting, which will leave him unavailable out of the bullpen for a few more days. Through 55 innings this season, he carries a 4.75 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 44:20 K:BB.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Starting second game Wednesday
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Liberatore will start the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader versus Atlanta, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Liberatore's last appearance was a spot start a week ago, and he went 3.2 innings and threw 48 pitches against the Marlins. Based on the workload he handled versus Miami, Liberatore should be capable of going at least that long in Wednesday's outing, though the St. Louis bullpen will certainly be needed to cover multiple innings.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Serves up two homers in spot start
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Liberatore allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one over 3.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Marlins on Wednesday.
Liberatore was pressed into a spot start after Kyle Gibson (back) was a late scratch. This was one day after Liberatore was charged with a blown save after allowing a run in two-thirds of an inning. The southpaw yielded solo home runs to Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez in the first inning. Liberatore has a 4.46 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 28:15 K:BB over 38.1 innings over 26 appearances (four starts) this season, though he's mainly operated out of the bullpen as the Cardinals have tried to find one steady role for him. It's unclear at this time if Liberatore would be a candidate to start again should Gibson require a stint on the injured list.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Not expected to start this weekend
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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that Liberatore is unlikely to start Saturday versus the Cubs, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
The Cards have gone back and forth on the best role for Liberatore, and the team's brain trust seems to have now settled on deploying the young left-hander out of the bullpen, where he had some success early on in the season. Andre Pallante and Zack Thompson are considered the leading candidates to start Saturday.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Continues to struggle
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Liberatore (1-2) suffered the loss Sunday against the Red Sox, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk over three innings. He struck out three.
Liberatore struggled through three-plus innings Sunday, allowing a first inning solo homer to former teammate Tyler O'Neill. Liberatore started the fourth with the game still at 2-0 , but he was pulled after allowing a run-scoring double to Romy Gonzalez, who later scored to add a fourth run to Liberatore's line. The 24-year-old lefty has struggled over his last four appearances, including three starts, allowing 11 runs over 10.1 innings. With the return of Steven Matz looming, Liberatore's stay in the Cardinals' rotation appears to be coming to an end.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Unimpressive in no-decision
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Liberatore allowed four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out one batter over 3.1 innings in a no-decision against the Angels on Monday.
Liberatore hurled two scoreless frames before the Angels tagged him for four runs in the third, with the final two tallies coming on a Kevin Pillar two-run homer. The southpaw departed in line for the loss, but St. Louis' offense eventually heated up to take him off the hook. This was Liberatore's second start of the season, and it came primarily as a result of Steven Matz landing on the injured list due to a back injury. Matz isn't expected back soon, but it wouldn't be surprising if the Cardinals put Liberatore back in the bullpen given his poor results Monday.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Available in relief
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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Thursday that Liberatore will be available out of the bullpen for the team's series this weekend in Milwaukee, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Liberatore remains a candidate to draw a start early next week, but he will sit with the relievers this weekend in case he's needed. The left-hander allowed one run over 3.2 innings in a spot start versus the White Sox in his last appearance and before that held a 2.76 ERA in 12 relief appearances.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Nabs win in matinee
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Liberatore (1-1) pitched a perfect inning and struck out two batters to earn the win in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader versus the Tigers.
Liberatore bounced back from his first loss of the season Sunday with a clean outing in the eighth inning Tuesday. The Cardinals then rallied ahead in the ninth, and Ryan Helsley closed the door for a save. Liberatore has been solid with a 2.93 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 9:8 K:BB through 15.1 innings over 11 appearances as a multi-inning relief option this season. Tuesday also marked the first time in six appearances he avoided walking a batter.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Takes extra-innings loss
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Liberatore (0-1) allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk over three innings, taking the extra-innings loss versus the Mets on Sunday. He did not record a strikeout.
Liberatore was called on for a long-relief assignment that began in the eighth inning and ended with a walk-off home run by Mark Vientos in the 11th. This was Liberatore's longest outing of the season, and it came in a game during which the Cardinals' bullpen had multiple high-leverage relievers unavailable due to recent workloads. The southpaw now has a 3.14 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 7:8 K:BB across 14.1 innings over 10 appearances this season. Liberatore's history as a starter will keep him in a long-relief role unless the Cardinals feel the need to swap him out for a fresher arm heading into Monday's game versus the Tigers.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Not available Sunday
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Liberatore will be unavailable with an illness for the third straight day Sunday against the Diamondbacks, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Liberatore was sent home Thursday with an illness that had him nauseous and will not be available to pitch against the Diamondbacks. The reliever, who currently has a 3.52 ERA, will reconvene with the team Monday as they travel to Oakland to face the Athletics, though his availability to pitch in that series is still unknown.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Moving to bullpen
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Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Friday that Liberatore will work out of the bullpen to begin the season, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The 24-year-old was attempting to win a spot in St. Louis' season-opening rotation, but Zack Thompson will instead fill in while Sonny Gray (hamstring) is on the injured list. Liberatore started in 11 of his 22 big-league appearances last season and could work as a swingman again in 2024.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Tagged with loss
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Liberatore (3-6) allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Friday versus the Padres.
The young lefty surrendered a two-run home run to Manny Machado in the eighth inning, ending Liberatore's eight-inning scoreless streak. He has a 5.52 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 44:24 K:BB through 58.2 innings across 19 outings (11 starts) this season.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Set for bullpen role
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Liberatore (back) will pitch out of the bullpen for the Cardinals after he was reinstated from the 15-day injured list Monday, Jim Hayes of Bally Sports Midwest reports.
Liberatore will be available in relief beginning with Wednesday's game at Atlanta. The 23-year-old left-hander has struggled to a 6.12 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 35:21 K:BB in 50 innings (11 starts, one relief appearance) this season at the major-league level and surrendered seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and 10 walks over 6.2 innings between his most recent two rehab starts at Triple-A Memphis. With Liberatore moving to the bullpen, Drew Rom will retain a spot in the St. Louis rotation as the team's fifth starter.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Next start moved to Wednesday
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Liberatore will make his next start Wednesday in Pittsburgh while he gets extra time to heal up from back pain, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Liberatore had been lined up to take the hill for Monday's series opener at PNC Park, but the Cardinals will instead call up Drew Rom from Triple-A Memphis to start that day to afford the lefty some extra time to rest up and recover. According to Denton, Liberatore's back issue stems from a weightlifting session rather than from his most recent start last Wednesday, when he gave up six runs (five earned) over 4.1 innings in a loss to Oakland. Before falling flat against the last-place Athletics, Liberatore turned in the best start of his career Aug. 10, blanking the Rays over eight innings while striking out seven.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Possible waiver wire pickups
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It's easy to dismiss Liberatore's two-hit gem at the Rays on Thursday given how uninspiring his major-league career has been up to this point, but notably, it was fueled by an increase in velocity of 1-1.5 mph across the board. And the Cardinals are giving the impression it's something he can sustain, brought about by a mechanical adjustment that finally clicked after weeks of lower body work. The key, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is the way he pushes off the pitching rubber. "It's a little bit of tempo," said Liberatore. "It's a little bit of confidence and trust. It's a little bit of the core and glutes being strong enough to dominate the move rather than the quads and lower back. And I felt like I was a lot more centered." Maybe it turns out to be a one-hit wonder, but for a 23-year-old with a prospect pedigree, it's reason to take a flier.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Gets lit up in first inning
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Liberatore didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 10-9 loss to the Marlins after allowing four runs on five hits and one walk while recording just one out.
Liberatore was shelled by the Marlins right from the opening pitch, surrendering four consecutive hits and a walk to kick off the bottom of the first inning before finally getting Jean Segura to fly out to left for the first out. The lefty then gave up another single to Dane Myers to make it a four-run inning for the Marlins before he was pulled in favor of Dakota Hudson. The 21-pitch outing was a disastrous one for Liberatore, who had been starting on three days' rest after previously covering 4.1 innings in a doubleheader last Saturday versus the Yankees. Considering that the Cardinals have an opening in the rotation this Sunday versus the White Sox following Adam Wainwright's (shoulder) recent move to the injured list, Liberatore could be a candidate to start again on three days' rest in St. Louis' final game before the All-Star break.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Friday's start postponed
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Liberatore's scheduled start against the Yankees has been postponed due to inclement weather, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
The young lefty was scheduled to square off against Luis Severino, but the game will instead be made up as part of a doubleheader Saturday. It's likely Liberatore will start one of the two games of that twin bill.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Pulled in third inning
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Liberatore did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing four unearned runs on four hits and two walks over 2.1 innings against the Cubs. He struck out three.
Liberatore was tagged for four runs in the first, but none of them were earned due to two errors from the Cardinals defense. The left-hander was pulled in the third inning at 56 pitches (33 strikes) in favor of Jake Woodford, who earned the win. Liberatore has started six of his seven MLB appearances this season, but Sunday's outing was by far his shortest as a starter, as he completed at least four innings in each of his other starts. The 23-year-old's spot in the rotation remains secure moving forward, especially if Jack Flaherty (hip) has to miss extended time, but Liberatore figures to have a short leash during his outings, with Woodford and Steven Matz available as long-relief options out of the bullpen.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Allows season-high five earned runs
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Liberatore did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing five runs on four hits and two walks over four innings against the Mets. He struck out two.
Liberatore allowed a season-high five earned runs, but he escaped with a no-decision thanks to the Cardinals' offensive explosion. It was a disappointing outing for the left-hander, who was coming off his first quality start of the year, and his ERA has ballooned to 6.12 through six appearances (five starts). The 23-year-old won the fifth-starter gig to start June while Steven Matz shifted to the bullpen, but Liberatore's spot in the rotation isn't guaranteed, especially if he continues to struggle.
