Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Trouble maintaining velocity
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Liberatore has had difficulty maintaining his velocity deep into starts, most recently seeing his four-seamer drop to 90-to-91 mph in the fifth inning of Tuesday's loss to the Rockies, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Liberatore set down the first nine batters he faced Tuesday. However, his velocity began to slip in the fourth -- when he served up a two-run homer to Hunter Goodman -- and declined further in the fifth before he was pulled after allowing the first two runners of that frame to reach base. Liberatore has a 5.47 ERA and 12:11 K:BB over 24.2 innings since the start of July and hasn't recorded an out beyond the fifth inning in any of those outings. The lefty could be wearing down as he goes through his first full season as a starter at the major-league level. Liberatore will make his next scheduled start Monday in Miami, but if he struggles again, the Cardinals will consider altering his role. One option is to piggyback him with Kyle Leahy.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Tagged with 10th loss
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Liberatore (6-10) took the loss against the Rockies on Tuesday, surrendering three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out three over four innings .
The left-hander was sharp early, setting down the first nine batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the fourth when Hunter Goodman belted a two-run homer that put St. Louis behind for good. The outing marked the 25-year-old's fifth consecutive start in which he's failed to complete five innings, and the loss extended his skid to four straight decisions without a win. Liberatore is slated to take the mound again early next week against Miami carrying a 4.08 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 88:28 K:BB over 118.1 innings.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Lasts four innings vs. Dodgers
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Liberatore didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Dodgers, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out one.
After starting the day with two scoreless innings, Liberatore gave up a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani in the third before the Dodgers tacked on an unearned run in the fourth. The 25-year-old Liberatore has struggled to provide much length recently -- he's failed to make it through the fifth inning in any of his last four starts. Overall, the left-hander sports a 3.98 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP and 85:27 K:BB through 21 starts (113 innings). Liberatore is currently lined up for a home matchup with the Rockies his next time out.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Falters in fifth inning
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Liberatore (6-9) allowed four runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out one over 4.1 innings to take the loss Friday versus the Padres.
A defensive miscue by Willson Contreras allowed the Padres to build a rally in the fifth inning, which ended Liberatore's outing early. He finished with 85 pitches (55 strikes) but came up short of the five-inning mark for the second start in a row. The southpaw had a start skipped coming out of the All-Star break and is also likely to have his innings monitored down the stretch -- he's already at 109 frames in 2025, though his career high across all levels came in 2022, when he logged 149.2 innings. Liberatore has been decent this year with a 3.96 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 84:26 K:BB across 20 starts, but if he can't be more efficient to be eligible for wins, his fantasy value will tumble. The 25-year-old is tentatively scheduled for a tough road matchup versus the Dodgers next week.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Doesn't complete five frames
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Liberatore (6-8) took the loss against San Diego on Saturday, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out three batters over 4.1 innings.
Liberatore hadn't pitched in 15 days prior to Saturday, as St. Louis opted to skip his last start so that he could get some extra rest around the All-Star break. Despite the extended time off, the Cardinals didn't want to push the southpaw too hard against the Padres -- per John Denton of MLB.com, manager Oli Marmol said prior to the contest that while Liberatore wouldn't be on a pitch count, he wasn't likely to reach triple-digit pitches. That proved to be the case, as he was lifted after 77 pitches (49 strikes). St. Louis seems set on keeping Liberatore's innings in check during the second half of the season, so shorter outings like this one could become the norm for him. He's currently at 104.2 frames on the campaign, 18.2 more than he threw all of last season, when he worked mostly as a reliever.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Start being skipped
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The Cardinals are giving Liberatore extra rest coming out of the All-Star break in order to manage his workload, and he's tentatively expected to make his next start Saturday against the Padres, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The left-hander lined up to take the mound Monday in Colorado, but St. Louis will instead call up prospect Michael McGreevy to pitch. Liberatore is healthy but has already thrown 100.1 innings this season, which is a significant bump in his workload after operating as a swingman in each of the previous two seasons. He's been a quality rotation piece for the Cardinals in 2025 with a 4.13 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 80:22 K:BB through 18 starts.
Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Overwhelmed by Atlanta in loss
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Liberatore (6-7) took the loss Friday against Atlanta, giving up six runs on nine hits and one walk in three innings. He didn't record a strikeout.
Liberatore matched his shortest outing of the year, and the six runs he surrendered were his most since his June 5 start. Friday's outing was his first this season without a strikeout, and the nine hits allowed tied his season high. Liberatore has still settled in as a consistent member of St. Louis' rotation during the first half of the campaign, logging a 4.13 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 80:22 K:BB over a career-high 100.1 frames.
Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Walks four in no-decision
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Liberatore allowed two runs on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts over five innings Saturday against the Cubs. He didn't factor into the decision.
The left-hander issued just 12 free passes through his first 15 outings of the season, but he's now walked nine batters across his past two starts. The command issues prevented Liberatore from extending his streak of quality starts to four, but he still has a 2.25 ERA over his last four appearances. He's likely to make his final start before the All-Star break next weekend versus Atlanta.
Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Blanks Cleveland for sixth win
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Liberatore (6-6) earned the win Sunday over the Guardians, allowing three hits and five walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out five.
Liberatore struggled with his command a bit, issuing a season-high five walks, though he was able to keep Cleveland off the board en route to a third straight win and quality start. The 25-year-old Liberatore lowered his ERA to 3.70 on the season with a 1.16 WHIP and 76:17 K:BB across 16 starts (92.1 innings). The left-hander is currently scheduled to face the division-leading Cubs on the road in his next outing.
Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Picks up fifth victory
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Liberatore (5-6) earned the win over the Cubs on Monday, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five batters over seven innings.
Liberatore needed a tidy 85 pitches to complete seven frames, throwing 52 of those offerings for strikes. The southpaw recorded his second straight quality start following a rough three-outing stretch in late May and early June during which he went 0-3 with a 10.29 ERA. Liberatore has a 3.96 overall ERA on the campaign, but without that poor three-start span it would be at 2.74 across 72.1 frames. He's tentatively scheduled to make his next start in Cleveland.
Liberatore (4-6) got the win Tuesday against the White Sox, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks while striking out four in six innings.
Liberatore picked up his first win since May 6 and posted his first quality start since May 24. The control from Liberatore remains impeccable, as he has just five walks over his last 38.1 innings. He also has just a 6.6 K/9 over that span compared to an 8.3 K/9 over his first seven starts of the year. He's still been reliable overall and will look to take down the Reds at home in his next start this weekend.
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