Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals 25-Year-Old Southpaw Appointed For 2025 Debut In Start Versus Angels

The young St. Louis hurler is poised to take the hill Tuesday night
Nate Hagerty|
Jul 6, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore (52) throws a pitch during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
Jul 6, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore (52) throws a pitch during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsLos Angeles Angels

The St. Louis Cardinals hope a rising star can help them bounce back Tuesday after falling 5-4 against the Los Angeles Angels the night before.

The Cardinals began their 2025 season on a three-game winning streak prior to Monday night's nail-biting defeat to the American League West-rival Angels. Hopefully, the challenging loss was just a misstep as St. Louis looks to maintain its lead at the top of the National League Central.

To erase the bad taste in their mouths from Monday night's loss, the Cardinals are relying on a 25-year-old left-handed pitcher to help the club rediscover the win column.

St. Louis LHP Matthew Liberatore is set to make his first big-league start of 2025 Tuesday night as he looks to shut down the Angels in game two of a three-game series.

Liberatore posted a 3-4 record with a 4.40 ERA, 76-to-28 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .251 batting average against and a 1.27 WHIP in 86 innings pitched for the Cardinals in 2024.

The young southpaw has been used in the bullpen and rotation for the Cardinals since debuting in May 2022. Unfortunately, St. Louis doesn't have a solidified back-end-of-the-rotation, so Liberatore is being tested as a starter to begin the year.

The top four spots in the Cardinals' rotation currently belong to Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas and Andre Pallante but younger talent such as Liberatore and Michael McGreevy could emerge as the club's No. 5 starter.

LHP Steven Matz could also be used in the rotation but after recording his first-career save on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins -- sacrificing zero runs on one hit, two strikeouts and zero walks -- it looks as if the veteran southpaw will remain in the bullpen for now.

The Cardinals are off to a solid 3-1 start, so let's hope Liberatore has a successful first outing in 2025 to help St. Louis maintain its one-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central.

More MLB: Yankees Sign Ex-Cardinals First-Round Draft Pick To Add Veteran Depth In Bullpen

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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