Liberatore sets sights on Opening Day starter bid with swing-and-miss stuff

JUPITER, Fla. -- Left-hander Matthew Liberatore continues to make the case that he should be the Cardinals’ Opening Day starter against the Rays on March 26 at Busch Stadium. Why? On Monday afternoon, he became the first pitcher in the rotation to throw five innings in a 7-2 victory over the Orioles.

Liberatore was dealing during the first three innings, allowing two hits (both singles) and striking out six batters with zero runs allowed. In the next two innings, he allowed two runs, including a solo homer to Orioles catcher Sam Huff, but overall, Liberatore had 16 swings and misses in the game, the most by any pitcher in Spring Training this year.

“Libby was great,” said bench coach Daniel Descalso, who was managing the Cardinals while skipper Oliver Marmol was managing a split squad against the Astros in a 10-3 loss in West Palm Beach. “Libby worked ahead in the count. He really had his slider dialed in today. You saw his velocity start to climb in the third or fourth inning. He was able to make it out of all of his innings and get all of his pitches in. It was really encouraging to see.”

Liberatore was also proud that he didn’t walk a batter in the game. He has allowed only one free pass in 13 1/3 innings during the exhibition season (10 innings in three Grapefruit League starts and 3 1/3 innings in his start against Team Nicaragua, which don't count toward Spring Training stats). He said he learned to avoid walks after he was put in the bullpen in 2024.

“It’s always fun to get out there and compete,” Liberatore explained. “I was able to get some swings and misses, which was nice. I was happy to finish five innings and not walk anybody today. [As far as walks go], there are no goals [from a numbers standpoint]. Ever since I was put in the 'pen, there is this heavy importance about needing to throw strikes right away. It’s something that’s kind of stuck with me. If I can avoid that as much as possible, it just makes it that much easier.”

The Cardinals have yet to name their Opening Day starter, but Liberatore said he would like to throw the first pitch of the 2026 season.

“Every pitcher growing up wants to throw the first pitch of the season for their team,” Liberatore acknowledged. “At the end of the day, it’s not completely in my control. So I’m trying to take it one day at a time and worry about what I have to do today. Then tomorrow -- I will figure it out tomorrow.”

Last season was Liberatore’s first full year as a starter. He had a nice run early in the season, limiting opposing teams to two runs or fewer in eight consecutive starts from April 13 to May 24.

“Going from the bullpen to the rotation was huge,” Liberatore said. “… Going on that run in the first half gave me the confidence that I can do this at this level for a longer period of time. That’s something I carried with me through the rest of the season.”