Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Will not make another start
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Liberatore is no longer scheduled to start during this weekend's series against the Cubs, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Liberatore has logged 151.2 innings in 2025, 65.2 more than he threw in 2024, so the Cardinals will shut the lefty down now that they're officially eliminated from playoff contention. The 25-year-old slowed considerably after an excellent first two months of the season, but he had a strong September and will finish with a 4.21 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 122:40 K:BB over 29 starts in his first full season as a big-league starter. Liberatore is locked into a rotation spot in 2026 in what is looking like another rebuilding year in St. Louis.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Fans six in win
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Liberatore (8-12) allowed a run on five hits and a walk over five innings Sunday, striking out six and earning a win over the Brewers.
Liberatore worked through four scoreless frames before the Brewers scratched a run across in the fifth inning. He's 2-1 over his last four outings after going 0-5 with a 5.77 ERA over his previous nine starts. Liberatore forced nine whiffs on 85 total pitches Sunday; he has not generated double-digit swinging strikes in any outing since June 23. The 25-year-old southpaw owns a 4.21 ERA with a 122:40 K:BB through 151.2 innings. Liberatore's final start of 2025 is projected to be a road matchup with the Cubs next weekend.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Goes six innings Monday
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Liberatore did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk over six innings against the Reds. He struck out six.
Liberatore didn't pick up the win Monday but did log six innings for the first time since June 29. The southpaw has flashed stretches of success but struggles to sustain it at the big-league level, carrying a 4.30 ERA and 1.31 WHIP across a career-high 28 starts and 146.2 innings this season.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Ineffective in 12th loss
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Liberatore (7-12) took the loss Tuesday against the Mariners, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks in four innings. He struck out one.
It was the fourth time this season that Liberatore fanned one or zero, and he also hurled a season-low 65 pitches. It's possible the Cardinals are monitoring the southpaw's workload during the second half -- Liberatore has worked fewer than five frames in six of his nine starts since the All-Star break. He has a 4.35 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 110:38 K:BB over a career-high 140.2 innings. Liberatore is next set to take the ball against the Reds next week.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Snaps winless stretch Wednesday
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Liberatore (7-11) earned the win over the Athletics on Wednesday, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over 5.1 scoreless innings.
Liberatore came into Wednesday with no victories over his past nine starts. He snapped that winless stretch in impressive fashion against the A's, recording his first scoreless outing since June 29. The southpaw also notched seven punchouts, his most since he struck out eight Pirates on May 6. Liberatore still hasn't completed six frames since that June 29 start, however, which was also the date of his most recent win prior to Wednesday.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Stung by long ball again Friday
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Liberatore came away with a no-decision in Friday's 7-5 extra-inning win over the Reds, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks over five-plus innings. He struck out four.
The southpaw served up two home runs, including a solo shot by Spencer Steer in the top of the sixth inning that helped chase Liberatore from the game. He's been taken deep at least once in five straight starts, and since the beginning of July he's stumbled to a 2.1 HR/9, helping to fuel a 5.77 ERA, 1.69 WHIP and 26:17 K:BB in 39 innings over that stretch. Liberatore will try to keep the ball in the yard in his next outing, which lines up to come at home next week against the A's.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Shaky in loss
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Liberatore (6-11) took the loss Sunday against Tampa Bay, allowing four runs on three hits and three walks across 4.1 innings. He struck out five.
Liberatore hasn't completed five innings in six of his last seven outings, and a fourth-inning solo homer marked Liberatore's fourth consecutive outing yielding a long ball. The 25-year-old left-hander has endured a rough August, going 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA and a 15:8 K:BB across 21.2 innings spanning five starts. He's tentatively scheduled to make his next start in Cincinnati next weekend.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Chased out in sixth inning
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Liberatore did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk over five-plus innings against the Marlins. He struck out five.
Liberatore worked into the sixth inning Monday but was knocked out before recording an out in the frame, leaving him with a no-decision. While he fell short of a full six innings, it was the first time the southpaw had completed five frames since July 5. The 25-year-old has struggled to maintain form as the season has worn on, pitching to a 5.31 ERA and 1.54 WHIP with a 5.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 across his last 12 starts (57.2 innings).
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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