Saturday’s Game Report: Cardinals 4. Braves 1
By Rob Rains
When Lars Nootbaar’s home run in the first inning gave Matthew Liberatore an early 3-0 lead, he knew exactly what to do with it.
Liberatore shut out the Braves on just four hits through six innings on Saturday night to send the Cardinals to the win over the Braves at Busch Stadium.
It was only the second time in 19 starts this season that Liberatore did not allow a run. The other time was a 5 1/3 innings outing against the Cubs on May 31.
Liberatore’s only stressful inning was the sixth, when the Braves got a pair of singles to put runners on first and third with one out, but he got cleanup hitter Drake Baldwin to ground into a double play to end the inning, and his night.
Here is how Saturday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Ivan Herrera and Jordan Walker singled in front of Nootbaar’s homer, his third of the season … The Cardinas wasted a leadoff triple by Bryan Torres in the second but picked up an insurance run in the fourth. Nootbaar led off the inning with a walk and scored on a two-out single by Blaze Jordan … That hit provided the last baserunner for the Cardinals as the Braves retired the final 13 batters in order.
On the mound: Liberatore walked one, the second batter of the game, and struck out six in picking up only his second win since that May 31 start against the Cubs … Luis Gastelum gave up a leadoff homer in the seventh for the Braves’ only run … Riley O’Brien pitched around a walk and a hit batter in the ninth to earn his 24th save.
Key stat: This was the first time the Cardinals scored three runs in the first inning at home since May 29, when Nelson Velazquez hit a three-run homer against the Cubs.
Worth noting: Walker was on the field before the game practicing for the Home Run Derby, which will be Monday night in Philadelphia … Brandon Clarke, one of the pitchers acquired in an off-season trade with the Red Sox, made his debut with the organization on Saturday throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings in a start at the Florida Complex League. Clarke has been recovering from surgery.
Up next: The Cardinals will close out the first half of the season on Sunday as they try to complete a sweep of the three-game series against the Braves. Dustin May will get the start.
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