Sunday’s Game Report: Cardinals 7, Phillies 0
By Rob Rains
Matthew Liberatore came away from his first two starts of the season knowing he had made a couple of mistakes which took away from the overall effectiveness of his outings.
He didn’t have to worry about that on Sunday.
Facing a tough Phillies lineup, Liberatore allowed just three hits over six innings before the Cardinals bullpen completed their second shutout in the three-game series at Busch Stadium.
After allowing a one-out single to Bryce Harper in the third – the only hit he has allowed in 15 at-bats against lefthanded hitters this season – Liberatore retired the last 11 hitters he faced and the bullpen combined set down the last nine Phillies in the game.
Knowing he is going to start, and now worry about going back-and-forth to the bullpen, has made a big difference in how Liberatore feels about his outings, and how he has been able to prepare for each one.
“It’s helped me really double down on how I evaluate things, execution, looking at my processes and routines,” Liberatore said. “I’ve been given a much more stable runway to kind of plan my days and make sure I maximize my time at the field every day instead of just kind of spit-balling based on what I find out the schedule might be that day. That’s helped me quite a bit.”
Liberatore had to get out of a jam in the second, when the Phillies had runners on second and third with one out, but he got a strikeout and got an out on a bunt attempt to strand both runners.
“When you are trying to judge your outings on execution and not results it makes it a lot easier to lock back in,” Liberatore said. “I executed at a high level in the first two starts and there were a couple of mistakes in there.
“Today was the same plan to go out and execute pitches and judge the outing off of that. That’s been working for me so far.”
The win allowed the Cardinals to beat the Phillies in a regular-season series for the first time since 2017. They had lost the last 11 series between the two teams since 2018.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Willson Contreras hit his first home run of th season to put the Cardinals in front 2-0 in the fourth … Jordan Walker also hit a two-run homer, following a double by Contreras, in the seventh to close out the scoring … Nolan Arenado and Nolan Gorman drove in runs with two of the three doubles the Cardinals hit in the sixth … Yohel Pozo also had a double and later scored on a wild pitch in the seventh.
On the mound: Liberatore struck out seven and walked one, the only walk he has issued in 18 1/3 innings over his three starts. Righthanders had been 14-of-41 off Liberatore in his first two games but were just 2-of-14 on Sunday … Phil Maton, JoJo Romero and Kyle Leahy each worked 1-2-3 innings in relief.
Key stat: This was the third time in the last turn through the rotation that the Cardinals starter did not allow a run. Overall in the last turn through the rotation the five starters combined allowed just four runs in 29 innings, a 1.24 ERA.
Worth noting: The two shutouts marked the first time the Cardinals shut out the Phillies twice in a series since 1997 … Contreras’ homer snapped a streak of 157 at-bats by the Cardinals without a home run … The Phillies did not hit a home run in the series and the Cardinals have not allowed a home run in the opponents’ last 154 at-bats … Harper was just 2-of-11 in the series, with both of the hits singles … The Phillies only had a combined 14 hits in the series, their fewest in a three-game series against the Cardinals since 1982.
Up next: The homestand continues on Monday night with the first of three games against the Astros. Sonny Gray is the scheduled starter.
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