Tuesday night in St. Louis was supposed to be the Cardinals’ chance to hit the reset button after a brutal road trip, right? Instead, it became a full-blown nightmare at Busch Stadium, and Matthew Liberatore was right in the middle of it. If you were wearing red in that stadium, you probably wanted your money back. What a disaster.
Liberatore’s Early Meltdown
Man, Liberatore looked shaky from the jump. He bobbled Jackson Holliday’s dribbler in the first, throwing it over Alec Burleson’s head into right field. Pete Alonso followed with a solid single, and suddenly the Orioles had runners at first and third with no outs. Credit where it’s due, he somehow got Gunnar Henderson to pop out and then struck out Mayo and Encarnacion-Strand to escape that mess. But that was just a preview. The third inning? Total meltdown. Taveras got an infield hit, then Holliday ripped a single to center. That brought up Alonso, who absolutely crushed an 88 mph changeup 435 feet deep into left field for a 3-0 Baltimore lead. And then Encarnacion-Strand stepped up and SMASHED a 94 mph fastball 450 feet even deeper to left. That’s not just a homer, folks, that was the *longest home run in Busch Stadium this season* and made it 4-0. Seriously? The Cardinals got a momentary spark when Nathan Church ripped a 72 mph curveball 405 feet into their bullpen to cut it to 4-1. A glimmer of hope, gone in a flash.
The Fifth Inning Collapse And Bullpen Woes
That little dose of Cardinals optimism? Poof, gone faster than Liberatore’s ERA shot up. He didn’t even make it through the fifth inning. Jackson Holliday led off with his *third hit of the night*, Pete Alonso followed with another single, and then Liberatore walked Gunnar Henderson to load the bases with nobody out. Yikes. Mayo singled, making it 5-1 Orioles, and that was it for Liberatore. He was done. But Baltimore was far from done scoring. Peter Strzelecki came in to relieve him, and honestly, it felt like he just poured gasoline on the fire. He immediately gave up a single to Encarnacion-Strand, scoring two more Orioles and making it a brutal 7-1. Strzelecki managed one strikeout against Basallo, but then he hit Franklin with a pitch, gave up a single to Taveras, another to Holliday, and a double to Alonso. Just a complete and utter mess.
After a beatdown like that, what do you even say? The Cardinals came home hoping to turn things around, and instead, they got absolutely embarrassed on their own turf. When your starter can’t get out of the fifth and your bullpen just keeps the party going for the other team, you know you’ve got some serious soul-searching to do. This kind of performance? It’s the kind that can just sap all the energy out of a clubhouse. They need to figure things out, and fast, before this slump becomes the story of their entire season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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