Friday’s Game Report: Rangers 11, Cardinals 1
By Rob Rains
Matthew Liberatore has arguably been the Cardinals best pitcher for more than a month, but he had an off night on Friday night.
He wasn’t alone.
Liberatore gave up five runs and the Rangers tacked on more runs against the bullpen in blowing out the Cardinals in the opener of a three-game series in Texas.
The offense only collected five hits and didn’t score until the eighth inning.
The 11 runs were the most the Cardinals have allowed in a game since April 6, when Boston scored 18 in the ninth game of the season.
The Cardinals turned to Alec Burleson to pitch the eighth inning, and after hitting the first batter he faced and then giving up a single, he got a double play grounder and a fly out to complete a scoreless inning.
Here is how Friday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals had only three hits through the first seven innings, singles by Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan and Yohel Pozo … In the eighth, with the score already 11-0, Victor Scott II led off with a single and scored on a double by Lars Nootbaar … The Cardinals were hitless in seven at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
On the mound: Liberatore gave up an unearned run in the first inning then surrendered three hits in front of a two-run homer by Wyatt Langford in the second as the Rangers increased their lead to 5-0 … Liberatore kept the Rangers from adding to their lead for the next three innings, but Gordon Graceffo and Matt Svanson weren’t as fortunate. Graceffo allowed four runs in one inning of work and Svanson gave up the final two runs as the Rangers combined for 15 hits in the game.
Key stat: Liberatore had only allowed a combined five runs in his previous five starts, covering a combined 25 1/3 innings. The five runs equaled the most he has allowed in a start this season, coming in his second outing of the year against the Angels.
Worth noting: This was the third career pitching appearance for Burleson with the Cardinals, the other two coming in 2023 when he gave up four runs in a combined 1 2/3 innings. Burleson also was a pitcher in college at East Carolina … Masyn Winn’s throwing error in the first inning was his first error of the season.
Up next: Sonny Gray will get the start on Saturday in the second game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.
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