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: 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: 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: 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: 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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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.
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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.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Back in win column
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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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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Dealing with fatigue
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Liberatore exited Thursday's start in the second game of a doubleheader against the Royals due to fatigue, Jim Hayes reports.
Liberatore labored through four innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and a walk. His velocity was also down to 89.8 mph in his final at-bat, so fatigue is seemingly the best news possible. It's unclear if Liberatore will require further testing or whether he will make his next turn through the rotation.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Exits with trainer
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Liberatore exited the second game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Cardinals' head athletic trainer, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports
Liberatore struggled across four innings prior to his exit, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and one walk. The exact nature of the injury is unclear, but his velocity dipped to 89.5 mph against the final batter he faced, per John Denton of MLB.com.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Stingy in no-decision
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Liberatore came away with a no-decision Saturday, allowing one run on six hits over seven innings in a 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks. He struck out four without walking a batter.
The 25-year-old southpaw served up a solo shot to Randal Grichuk in the fifth inning but was otherwise very efficient as he fired 61 of his 88 pitches for strikes. The quality start was Liberatore's seventh in 10 outings this season, and he's given up two runs or fewer in eight straight trips to the mound, posting a 1.91 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 40:8 K:BB through 47 innings over that span. Liberatore will look to keep rolling in his next start, which is scheduled to come on the road next weekend against the Rangers.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Notches sixth quality start
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Liberatore took a no-decision in Sunday's 2-1 loss at Kansas City, allowing one run on six hits and one walk over six innings. He struck out five.
The St. Louis southpaw continued his recent excellent run of performance, as he has now allowed two or fewer runs over his last seven outings. During that stretch, Liberatore has pitched to a 2.03 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 36:7 K:BB across 40 innings. The 25-year-old limited damage once again Sunday, with the only blemish on his line coming via a Dairon Blanco RBI double in the fourth. Liberatore currently lines up to make his next start at home against Arizona next weekend.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Start shortened by rain delay
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Liberatore (2-3) was charged with the loss Thursday in Cincinnati after giving up two runs on two hits and a walk across three innings. He struck out two.
The left-hander surrendered a two-run homer to Jose Trevino during the second inning but didn't get a chance to work much deeper into Thursday's contest due to a lengthy rain delay. The long ball is just the second allowed this season by Liberatore, and he's also issued only three walks through six starts. He's been a strong rotation piece for St. Louis early in 2025 and has a 3.44 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 30 strikeouts over 34 innings.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Blanks Phillies
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Liberatore (1-1) tossed six scoreless innings in a win over the Phillies on Sunday, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out seven.
Liberatore had an outstanding performance leading to his first win of the season. He had almost 60 pitches through three frames but went nine up, nine down over the next three innings. Liberatore did an excellent job of getting ahead of the count and his slider was fooling hitters with a 66.7 percent whiff rate. Liberatore owns a 3.93 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 18:1 K:BB in 18.1 innings and lines up for a road start against the Mets this week.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Beginning season in rotation
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Liberatore will be St. Louis' fifth starter to begin the campaign, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
This news comes as a mild surprise after Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in mid-March that Liberatore would likely open the season in the bullpen. Instead, the left-hander will work as St. Louis' fifth starter while Steven Matz will begin the campaign in the bullpen and Michael McGreevy will start the season in the minors. The Cardinals plan to move to a six-man rotation beginning April 16, giving Liberatore more leeway as a starter as long as his performance is up to par early in the campaign.
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Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Prepping as starter
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Liberatore said Sunday that he'll build up as a starter during spring training, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
The left-hander found success out of the bullpen last season with a 3.69 ERA in 54 relief appearances, but he'll still get stretched out during camp. Liberatore pointed out it's easier to pare down his workload later on compared to building up midseason, so he could still end up beginning the campaign in a relief role.
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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.
