The ideal scenario for a bullpen strategy in Game 2 of a Wednesday doubleheader was clear to Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol and his staff.
It started with getting opener Matthew Liberatore to the right spot to hand the ball over to the guys behind him.
“The last thing we said was, it'd be really nice if he (Liberatore) could face the leadoff guy a third time and then go straight to (right-hander Chris) Roycroft,†Marmol said following a 4-1 Cardinals win at Busch Stadium.
What Marmol and his staff hoped for was described as a “best-case scenario.†What unfolded in real-time turned into an outing from the lefty that was “incredible.â€
Making his 27th pitching appearance and fifth start of the year, Liberatore tossed six scoreless innings and struck out a career-high eight batters. The 24-year-old left-hander kept a star-studded Atlanta lineup to two hits and one walk on 85 pitches after reaching a season-high 70 earlier this year. The strong start helped the Cardinals (41-38) clinch their second consecutive series win after dropping the Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader, 6-2, against the Braves.
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ºüÀêÊÓƵ’s win in the nightcap improved it to a 26-14 record in its last 40 games, which is the best in the National League since May 12.
“Our thought was to keep (Liberatore) somewhere around 70 to 75 (pitches),†Marmol said. “He wanted to go back out for another inning (because) he felt so good. This is a resilient arm. Loves to throw. Throws every day. He'll probably tell you he's available tomorrow. He did a nice job.â€
The Cardinals originally had righty Andre Pallante scheduled to start Wednesday but shifted their pitching plans and implemented a bullpen day with hopes of alleviating the rotation’s workload with two scheduled off days before the July 15 All-Star break. Marmol and his staff moved Pallante to Friday’s game, Miles Mikolas to Thursday and went with Liberatore on Wednesday to begin a relief core game that would have rookie Chris Roycroft, the Cardinals’ 27th man for the doubleheader, as the first man out of the bullpen.
When Roycroft’s ideal spot turned up with two outs in the sixth inning as the switch-hitting Ozzie Albies was due up, Marmol was faced with a decision: Let the left-handed Liberatore face Albies, who came into Wednesday night batting .346 with a .905 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) against left-handed pitchers, or stick the script.
Marmol left Liberatore in the game to face Albies after he struck out the first two batters he faced to begin that inning. The opportunity gave Liberatore the chance to punctuate his outing with a swinging strikeout of Albies on a slider.
“The splits are as big as they get,†Marmol said. “We want (Albies) hitting from the left side. (Liberatore) punches out two guys before (Albies). I was ready to go out there, but it's one of those times where you can instill a decent amount of confidence if he walks off the mound himself, and he was able to do that. And to his credit, he was incredible.â€
“That's everything you could ask for right there,†Liberatore said. “I was going out trying to eat up as many innings as I can knowing our bullpen was short on guys and beat up a little bit the past couple of series. Fortunately, I was able to go out there and help save a couple of innings.â€
The 24-year-old earned an opening-day roster spot for the first time in his career as he filled a left-handed relief role in the bullpen. The relief role has provided flexibility in Marmol’s bullpen usage given Liberatore’s ability to complete multiple innings and to be deployed in various scenarios. Liberatore has posted a 2.92 ERA in 24 2/3 innings of relief in his 22 relief outings this year, continuing the success he discovered there once he switched from the rotation near the end of the 2023 season.
Liberatore was told Tuesday night that he’d make Wednesday’s start after Tuesday’s game was postponed because of rain. It was his second consecutive start after making a spot start June 19 in Miami once scheduled starter Kyle Gibson was scratched due to back tightness shortly before first pitch against the Marlins.
With more advanced notice, Liberatore said he didn’t “really care either way†because his “job is still to go out and execute pitches and try and help this ballclub win a game.â€
“I just found a rhythm there early on and tried to continue to trust myself and not get outside of what I do or who I am,†he said of his Wednesday night start.
The former top pitching prospect who started in 18 of his first 21 big league games began his outing by allowing a leadoff single to Jarred Kelenic but neutralized Kelenic by throwing over to first base to catch him trying to steal. The only other hit Liberatore allowed was a single by Kelenic in the third as he held the Cardinals’ 2-0 lead provided by a two-run double from Alec Burleson in the third inning.
The length provided by Liberatore left three innings to cover for the Cardinals bullpen.
Roycroft provided a scoreless inning in the seventh. Righty Andrew Kittredge and lefty JoJo Romero followed behind him as they combined to pitch the eighth to set up closer Ryan Helsley to pitch a scoreless inning in the ninth that earned him his 28th save of the year, all of which have come consecutively.
“He was just kind of doing his thing,†said Roycroft, who struck out two. “He was grooving. When you get a guy that's feeling himself, you just ride that. ... It was huge. It saved the bullpen a ton.â€
On a night when Liberatore threw 85 pitches, opposing hitters swung and missed on his slider 10 times. He landed it for a called strike three times. He paired that swing-and-miss breaking pitch with a fastball that averaged 94.6 mph and a sinker that sat at 95.1 mph as weapons to keep right-handers, who had a .310 average and a .942 OPS against him, hitless on the night.
As he got deeper into his outing, Liberatore said there weren’t any conversations between him and Marmol until after the fifth inning. When that moment came, Liberatore promised his manager he was “good to go†for another inning.
The brief message was all Marmol needed to hear.
“The fact that he wanted to go back out for another lets you know that he had more in the tank, which is great because that's been a conversation as well as being able to do that as a starter and sustain that velo,†Marmol said. “You can't say enough about what he did today.â€