ARLINGTON -- Matthew Liberatore had his roughest outing of the season on Friday night, matching his season highs in runs and hits allowed in the Cardinals’ 11-1 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field.
However, it could have been rougher.
Liberatore gave up all five runs (four earned) in the first two innings, but responded and closed out with three scoreless innings. Managing to get through five innings on a night he didn’t have his best stuff certainly showcased the continued growth of the left-hander more than the final result did.
“I was happy to be able to get through five and not come out of that game in the second or third inning,” Liberatore said. “I wanted to go back out for one more, I would’ve loved to get through six there, but it’s a continuous game of adjustments. Each time out, I try to get better at making those.”
Asked where his inner desire to push through situations like he faced early on Friday comes from, Liberatore said it’s the “perfectionist” in him.
“Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes that’s a bad thing,” Liberatore said. “But I’d like to pitch the next day after I have a rough outing. Unfortunately, I have to wait four or five more days. I know the things that I need to work on. We’re going to have some good conversations with [pitching coach Dusty Blake]. I feel good about coming back out in five or six days and making another start.”
Liberatore entered as one of the hottest starters in the game. He was riding an eight-start stretch in which he held opponents to two runs or less. In his previous four starts, he allowed five runs combined in 25 1/3 innings.
But the Rangers pounced on him early. They scored an unearned run in the first inning as leadoff man Sam Haggerty reached on an error by Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn. Haggerty then scored on a two-out single by Josh Jung. The Rangers added four more in the second.
Haggerty had a two-out, two-run triple on a ball that landed just inside the right-field line, followed by a two-run home run by Wyatt Langford. Langford sent a 2-0 cutter from Liberatore over the left-center field fence.
The four runs were the most allowed in a single inning by Liberatore this season. But he rebounded with three scoreless innings. The difference?
“Just started throwing more changeups after that second inning,” he said. “Unfortunately, I made the adjustment an inning too late.”
Liberatore’s final stat line was five runs allowed (four earned) on seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts over five innings It marked his second-shortest start of the season -- he had his start cut short on May 1 at Cincinnati after three innings due to a lengthy rain delay.
“Just overall command wasn’t what we’ve seen in the last several outings, but this guy has done a really nice job. You’re going to have outings like that,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He fought through it and, toward the end, did a much better job.”
Liberatore retired eight of the final 11 batters he faced and would have liked to pitch the sixth. Marmol, though, said there was no reason to push Liberatore to his max on a night the game got out of hand.
The Cardinals’ offense had their own struggles. They were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and didn’t score until the eighth inning on an RBI double by Lars Nootbaar.
Again, despite the numbers, the story of the night centered on Liberatore showing some resilience in handling situations that could have knocked him out earlier.
“You look in the first inning, we make a mistake that leads to a run,” Marmol said. “Then [in the second], they dump one into right for two runs and then the homer gets him. But he did a really nice job outside of that.
“Games like that tended to speed him up in the past. He wanted to go back out for the sixth, he felt like he was starting to lock it in and timing it up. But, yeah, there’s a lot of growth in Libby and how he’s handled those types of innings.”