Liberatore Gets the Ball Looking to Take Series From Pirates
The Cardinal Chronicle
Liberatore Gets the Ball as Cardinals Look to Take Series From Pirates
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The Cardinals have one more chance to turn a difficult week into a series win.
After splitting the first two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium, St. Louis returns Sunday afternoon with a chance to take the series, climb back to .500 and head into September with at least a little traction.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. CT, with left-hander Matthew Liberatore getting the ball for the Cardinals against Pirates right-hander Braxton Ashcraft.
The Pirates enter at 66-71, while the Cardinals come in at 68-69. That record says plenty. St. Louis has spent too much of this season living on the edge of even, and Sunday offers another chance to get back there after a stretch that has included a sweep in Philadelphia, a rough series against Baltimore and another frustrating loss Saturday.
The weekend opened the right way.
Quinn Mathews gave the Cardinals exactly what they needed Friday night, earning his first major league win in a 4-1 victory. Mathews worked into the sixth inning, allowed one run and struck out seven, while Jimmy Crooks delivered the big swing with a two-run homer. Jordan Walker added three hits and scored twice, and Ryne Stanek closed it with Riley O’Brien unavailable.
That was the kind of game the Cardinals needed.
Saturday was not.
The Pirates answered with a 6-2 win, using six pitchers to hold St. Louis to three hits. Brandon Lowe homered in the first inning, Rafael Flores Jr. broke the game open with a three-run shot in the fifth, and Carmen Mlodzinski gave Pittsburgh 3 1/3 strong innings out of the bullpen.
For the Cardinals, Joshua Báez hit his first home run at Busch Stadium, and Brycen Mautz showed real swing-and-miss stuff after being recalled from Memphis. Mautz struck out eight over three innings, but the mistake to Flores turned a tight game into a four-run deficit. Cade Winquest followed with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts, giving the Cardinals at least one positive from an otherwise flat afternoon.
The larger issue was the offense.
Three hits will not win many games, even against a bullpen day. The Cardinals had a chance to build on Friday’s win and put themselves in position for a series victory before Sunday. Instead, the offense went quiet again, and now the finale carries more weight.
That brings the focus back to Liberatore.
Liberatore enters at 5-12 with a 5.44 ERA and 132 strikeouts. It has been an uneven season, and the Cardinals need one of his better versions Sunday. With Hunter Dobbins and Andre Pallante still on the injured list, every start matters more. The Cardinals do not have the rotation depth to keep absorbing short outings and bullpen stress.
Liberatore does not need to be perfect.
He does need to give the Cardinals innings.
The Pirates are not an overwhelming offensive club, but they have enough power to punish mistakes. Brandon Lowe now has 28 home runs. Oneil Cruz remains the kind of left-handed bat who can change a game with one swing. Bryan Reynolds, Nick Gonzales, Ryan O’Hearn, Rafael Flores Jr., Jake Mangum and the rest of the lineup give Pittsburgh enough contact and enough damage to make life difficult if Liberatore falls behind.
The key is simple.
Throw strikes. Get ahead. Do not give free baserunners to a lineup that just beat the Cardinals without needing a huge number of chances. Keep Lowe and Cruz from hitting with traffic on base. Make Pittsburgh earn everything.
Liberatore has seen the Pirates this season, and there is something there to build on. In his last start against Pittsburgh on May 19, he struck out nine over 4 2/3 innings. The Cardinals would gladly take the strikeout stuff again, but they need more length this time. A strong four-plus innings will not be enough in a game where the bullpen has already been asked to carry so much.
On the other side, Ashcraft is not an easy draw.
He enters at 13-5 with a 3.59 ERA and 161 strikeouts, and MLB notes he has a 1.91 ERA across five August starts. That is a pitcher finishing the month with confidence, and the Cardinals cannot let him cruise through the first three innings.
The approach has to be better than it was Saturday.
St. Louis needs traffic early. It needs longer at-bats. It needs runners on base ahead of Walker, Alec Burleson, Iván Herrera, Báez and Nolan Gorman. It needs JJ Wetherholt to help set the table. It needs Crooks, Nathan Church, José Fermín and the bottom half to make sure Ashcraft does not get easy turns through the order.
The Cardinals cannot sit around waiting for one swing.
That has been part of the problem all season. There are nights when the young bats make this lineup look dangerous. There are other nights when the offense disappears for too long, leaving the pitching staff with no margin. Saturday was another example. Báez homered, but there was not enough around it.
Sunday has to be different.
Walker remains one of the most important bats in the lineup. He had three hits Friday and continues to be the middle-order presence St. Louis needs. Burleson has been one of the club’s steadiest hitters. Herrera gives the Cardinals another bat capable of working counts and creating traffic. Báez brings raw power that can change a game quickly, but he is still in the adjustment period every young hitter faces.
The Cardinals need the whole lineup involved.
This is not just about taking two of three from Pittsburgh. It is about stopping the constant slide back below even. It is about winning a home series against a division opponent. It is about showing that the final month is not going to be built on explanations, injuries and promises about tomorrow.
The Cardinals have been handed plenty of reasons to wobble.
The rotation is thinner. The bullpen has been stretched. Masyn Winn and Everson Pereira remain out. Blaze Jordan’s injury added another layer of concern. The schedule does not wait for any of it to get fixed.
Sunday is the kind of game St. Louis has to win if September is going to matter.
The Cardinals do not need to make a statement.
They need to play a clean baseball game.
Get a start from Liberatore.
Put pressure on Ashcraft.
Cash in when Pittsburgh gives them extra outs.
Win the series.
Get back to .500.
That is the assignment.
Game Info
Matchup: Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals
When: Sunday, August 30, 2026
First Pitch: 1:15 p.m. CT / 2:15 p.m. ET
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Probable Pitchers: RHP Braxton Ashcraft vs. LHP Matthew Liberatore
Ashcraft: 13-5, 3.59 ERA, 161 SO
Liberatore: 5-12, 5.44 ERA, 132 SO
Records: Pirates 66-71; Cardinals 68-69
Broadcast: Cardinals.TV Presented by bet365 / SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: KMOX