Liberatore, Nootbaar Lead Cardinals Past Braves, 4-1

The Cardinal Chronicle
Liberatore, Nootbaar Lead Cardinals Past Braves, 4-1
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals needed one more strong statement before the All-Star break.

Saturday night at Busch Stadium, they got it from Matthew Liberatore.

They got it from Lars Nootbaar too.

Behind six scoreless innings from Liberatore and one big first-inning swing from Nootbaar, the Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-1, taking the first two games of the weekend series and giving themselves a chance to close the first half with a sweep.

This was not a loud offensive night from start to finish.

It did not have to be.

The Cardinals struck early, added one more run in the fourth, then let the pitching staff carry the rest. After Friday night’s rain-delayed 2-1 win over Atlanta, Saturday was the cleaner version — a starter setting the tone, the offense doing enough, and the bullpen finishing the job.

That is a good way to win a series.

It is an even better way to go into Sunday with a chance to take all three from the Braves.

Liberatore entered the night with something to prove. His season has had flashes, but also too many crooked innings and too many nights where the damage came in bunches. The Cardinals have continued to give him opportunities, and Saturday night was exactly the kind of outing they needed to see.

He gave them six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, walking one and striking out six. He threw 71 pitches, 50 for strikes, and worked with the kind of pace and command that has too often been missing when things have gone sideways.

This was not a survival start.

This was a winning start.

Liberatore opened the game by striking out Michael Harris II, then walked Ozzie Albies. After a wild pitch moved Albies to second, Liberatore struck out Matt Olson and got Drake Baldwin to line out to second. It was an early test, and he passed it.

Then the Cardinals gave him room.

In the bottom of the first, JJ Wetherholt grounded out to second before Iván Herrera reached on an infield single to shortstop. Alec Burleson lined out to center, but Jordan Walker followed with a single to right, moving Herrera to second.

That brought Nootbaar to the plate.

He did not miss.

Nootbaar drove a three-run homer to right field, giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead before Atlanta starter Reynaldo López could get out of the opening inning. It was Nootbaar’s third home run of the season, and it gave St. Louis exactly what it needed — early separation against a Braves club that has enough power to change a game quickly.

It was the biggest swing of the night.

It also continued an encouraging stretch for Nootbaar, who has had to work his way back into rhythm after missing time earlier in the season. When he is healthy and producing, he changes the length of the Cardinals’ lineup. Saturday night was a reminder of why.

Nootbaar did more than homer.

He walked in the fourth, stole second and came home on Blaze Jordan’s two-out single to center, pushing the Cardinals’ lead to 4-0. That was an important add-on run, especially in a game where the offense was not going to pile up hits all night.

Jordan’s single mattered.

It was a young hitter staying in the middle of the field and cashing in a runner in scoring position. Those are the at-bats that can get buried under the highlight of a three-run homer, but they are the difference between protecting a lead and leaving a game too close.

The Cardinals only had five hits.

They made them count.

Herrera singled and scored. Walker singled and scored. Nootbaar homered, walked, stole a base, scored twice and drove in three. Bryan Torres tripled in the second, though the Cardinals could not bring him home. Jordan added the RBI single in the fourth.

That was enough because Liberatore did not let Atlanta back into the game.

After working around the first-inning walk, he struck out Mauricio Dubón and Austin Riley to open the second before getting Eli White to fly out to right. In the third, he retired the bottom of the Braves’ order and Harris to keep the shutout moving. In the fourth, he allowed a two-out single to Baldwin but got Dubón to fly out to deep left.

The fifth brought another small test.

Riley singled to left-center, but Liberatore got White to bounce into a fielder’s choice. Joey Bart then lined out to third, and Jorge Mateo lined out to left. No damage.

The sixth was the last real threat.

Harris singled to shallow center, Albies flied out, and Olson singled to right-center, moving Harris to third. Atlanta finally had the kind of inning that could change the night, with two on and one out and the middle of the order trying to get the Braves back in it.

Liberatore answered.

Baldwin grounded into a double play, second to short to first, ending the inning and preserving the shutout.

That was the at-bat of the game from the pitching side.

The Braves had traffic, momentum and a chance to cut into the lead. Liberatore got one pitch to do exactly what he needed, and the Cardinals turned it cleanly behind him.

That is how a starter finishes an outing.

Not by being perfect.

By making the pitch that ends the threat.

Liberatore left after six with a 4-0 lead, and the Cardinals turned the game over to the bullpen. Luis Gastelum took the seventh and was greeted by Dubón, who homered to left to cut the lead to 4-1. It was Atlanta’s only run of the night.

Gastelum still kept the inning from growing. He struck out Riley, allowed a double to White, then got Bart to ground out and Jim Jarvis to strike out. The Braves had life, but they did not get the inning they needed.

George Soriano took over in the eighth and was sharp. He retired Harris on a fly ball to right, struck out Albies swinging and struck out Olson looking. That was a strong shutdown inning against the top of Atlanta’s order.

Riley O’Brien handled the ninth and closed the door.

That final stretch mattered because the Cardinals did not add on after the fourth. Owen Murphy quieted the St. Louis lineup out of the Atlanta bullpen, retiring the Cardinals over the final few innings and keeping the Braves close enough to make the late innings matter.

The Cardinals’ pitching made sure the lead held.

Atlanta finished with one run on six hits. Dubón supplied the only run with his seventh-inning homer. White doubled. Olson, Baldwin, Riley and Harris each had hits. But the Braves went quiet in the biggest spots, struck out 10 times and never found the inning that could flip the game.

The Cardinals did not commit an error.

They turned the double play when they needed it.

They pitched clean baseball.

That is the part of the night that should not be overlooked.

The offense will get the headline because Nootbaar’s swing changed the game in the first inning. Liberatore will get the headline because he gave the Cardinals six scoreless innings against a dangerous lineup. But the overall shape of the win was just as important.

St. Louis played a complete game.

Not a perfect one.

A complete one.

The starter gave them length. The offense struck early. The defense handled the ball. The bullpen bent only once and did not let the game get tight. Against an Atlanta club that came in with one of the better records in the National League, that is not a small thing.

The Cardinals are still fighting for position. Every game before the break matters, especially after the frustration of the Milwaukee series and the uneven stretch that came before it. They needed to stabilize. They needed to finish the first half with some backbone. They needed to show they could beat a good team at home and not simply hang around.

They have done that for two straight nights.

Friday was messy because of the long rain delay, but the Cardinals found a way to win 2-1. Saturday was cleaner, more controlled and built on the kind of starting pitching they will need if they are going to stay in the postseason picture.

That is the bigger takeaway.

The Cardinals can talk about competing. They can talk about the race. They can talk about the opportunity in front of them. But the postseason push will only become real if the starting pitching gives them nights like this one.

Liberatore gave them one.

And the timing could not have been much better.

The Cardinals have already won the series. On Sunday, they will have a chance to finish the weekend with a sweep and head into the All-Star break with momentum.

That matters.

The Braves are not a soft opponent. They have lineup depth, power and a record that reflects how good they have been. Taking the first two games of this series is meaningful. Closing the deal Sunday would make it even louder.

For now, Saturday belongs to Liberatore and Nootbaar.

Liberatore set the tone from the mound.

Nootbaar delivered the swing.

The Cardinals beat the Braves, 4-1.

And for one more night at Busch Stadium, St. Louis looked like a club that still has something important to chase.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Lars Nootbarr, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB