Monday’s Game Report: Guardians 9, Cardinals 3
By Rob Rains
Issuing back-to-back walks to begin an inning is never a good idea for a pitcher, and it wasn’t for Matthew Liberatore on Monday night.
The Cardinals’ starter did that in the fourth inning, followed by consecutive hits, that led to a three-run inning and sent the Guardians to the win in the opener of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.
Including two walks by relievers, the Cardinals issued five walks in the game and four of them came around to score.
One of the few bright spots for the Cardinals was another home run by Jordan Walker, his major-league leading eighth in the first 16 games of the season and seventh in his last nine games.
The loss was the third in a row for the Cardinals, who have been outscored 25-7 in those three games. The Cardinals have only scored four runs in those games that did not come on a home run by Walker.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals opened the first inning with three consecutive hits, including an RBI single by Alec Burleson, but left the bases loaded after only scoring the one run … They also only scored once in the eighth after loading the bases, going 1-of-10 with a runner in scoring position … Walker’s home came leading off the sixth inning and he also beat out an infield hit leading off the eighth and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Pedro Pages … Masyn Winn returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games and reached base in all four plate appearances with three walks and a double.
On the mound: Liberatore threw a career-high 105 pitches in his five innings of work. He allowed the first four Cleveland runs on six hits and three walks while striking out two … A two-out walk by Gordon Graceffo was followed by a home run by ninth-place hitter Brayan Rocchio to open a 6-1 lead in the sixth and the Guardians added three runs in eighth, beginning with a leadoff walk and the runner later scored on a throwing error by Ryan Fernandez, making his season debut. Fernandez allowed four hits in his 1 2/3 innings.
Key stat: This was the 12th time in the first 16 games of the season that the Cardinals’ starters has failed to work more than five innings.
Worth noting: Fernandez was recalled from Memphis to give the Cardinals a fresh arm in the bullpen. Jared Shuster was designated for assignment … Cade Winquest, who was selected by the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft, was returned to the Cardinals on Monday and assigned to Memphis … Also at Memphis, Richard Fitts – who had a 1.76 ERA in his first three starts – was placed on the seven-day injured list because of a lat strain … Matt Pushard, on the IL with knee inflammation, is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Memphis later this week.
Up next: Michael McGreevy will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series.
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