The longer Matthew Liberatore’s struggles continue, the more it may make one wonder whether his strong start was less a long-awaited breakout and more an aberration.
Liberatore has a chance to quell those doubts Tuesday as the Cardinals begin a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox at 6:40 p.m.
Thankfully for the left-hander Liberatore (3-6, 4.17 ERA), the White Sox are one of the lightest-hitting teams in baseball. The Pale Hose have the fewest hits, third-fewest homers, lowest batting average and are tied for the lowest on-base plus slugging percentage.
They also have the American League’s worst record.
Liberatore, in his first seven starts, was one of baseball’s most valuable starters, sporting a 3.07 ERA and finally living up to his billing as a former top prospect.
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In the six starts since and among the 80 qualified MLB starters, Liberatore ranks 72nd in ERA (5.01), 77th in batting average against (.302) and 64th in wins above replacement, per Fangraphs. He is also 0-3 and the Cardinals are 2-4 in those games.
Five of his first seven starts were quality as compared to only two of his last six outings.
Since May 12, foes are hitting .412 vs. his fastball, up from .200 to that point, and .550 vs. his cutter, up from .235 to that point.
The White Sox will start right-hander Shane Smith (3-3, 2.37 ERA), a rookie picked by Chicago in the Rule 5 draft this past winter. Smith is adjusting quickly especially given that he was undrafted and barely even pitched at Triple-A.
Smith’s two most-thrown pitches, his four-seamer and his changeup, both rank among the best in baseball.
The Cardinals are 37-35, tied for third in the National League Central and 4-10 this month. Only two teams have fewer wins in June.
The White Sox are 23-49 overall and 16-18 at home, a big improvement from last season, when the team went 41-121 in one of the worst seasons in modern history. A significant part of that: improving a historically bad defense to just a normally bad defense.
One of Chicago’s eight series wins of 2024 came against the Cardinals in St. Louis in May.
How to watch Cardinals at White Sox
Where: Rate Field in Chicago
TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest (live stream link); KMOX (1120 AM and 104.1 FM), other stations in the Cardinals Radio Network as well as MLB.tv.
Your options to watch: Input your ZIP code and see your choices for watching Cardinals games.
Lineups
P: Matthew Liberatore, LHP
Injury report
Brendan Donovan, INF/OF (left toe inflammation): Returned to the lineup Sunday (see above) after testing his injured big toe over the previous two days. Has decided to wear a carbon fiber insert to limit the flexing of the toe that caused pain. Updated June 15
Zach Thompson, LHP (shoulder, lat strain): Lefty returned to Jupiter, Florida, to resume a throwing program there after going through a battery of tests and exams in St. Louis. Strengthening is the goal before advancing. Updated June 13
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