Every MLB team goes through good and bad stretches throughout a grueling 162-game season. The good overtaking the bad feels more satisfying when it's a collective effort and the St. Louis Cardinals are going through one of their best spans of 2024 following their latest series win.
St. Louis has won 10 of its last 14 and improved to an NL-best 26-14 since May 12 after splitting a doubleheader with the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. The Cardinals avenged a 6-2 loss in the first game with a 4-1 win in game two.
It hasn’t been the easiest of sledding for the Cardinals during this stretch but they're not using anything as an excuse. Despite battling the weather and plenty of injuries, St. Louis is hot and taking advantage when it can.
“With all the rain delays, doubleheader, bullpen game and all of it, guys just stayed locked in,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said, per John Denton. “They’re not giving in to a lot. It doesn’t matter — delays or not starting on time — once that first pitch is thrown, guys are locked in. They’re not giving away a whole lot. If the opposition is giving us anything, we’re taking advantage of it and playing good baseball.”
At 41-38 the Cardinals are in a playoff spot but that can easily change in a top-heavy National League. Six teams are separated by three games in the NL wild card standings. St. Louis is in the second of three wild card positions while trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by six games in the NL Central.
Liberatore shines for Cardinals in win over Braves
A big reason for St. Louis' success as of late is their pitching staff. The Cardinals are getting quality innings from the bulk of their starters while having to navigate through pitching injuries and bullpen games.
Reliever turned starter Matthew Liberatore gave the Cardinals a shot in the arm with his brilliant outing on Wednesday. In his fifth start of the season, Liberatore blanked the Braves through six innings. He totaled a career-high eight strikeouts and registered the third quality start of his MLB career.
“He was in control of that whole outing and the game looked slow to him,” Marmol said. “And, man, he was on the attack. He was incredible. … He took advantage of this opportunity and took a huge step forward.”
A first-round pick in 2018, the Cardinals acquired Liberatore via trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020. He made his MLB debut with St. Louis in May 2022 and was back and forth between the majors and Triple-A that year and 2023.
The Cardinals have stuck with him in the big leagues this year despite a 7.43 ERA across 13.1 innings in May. He's bounced back nicely in June with a 1.72 ERA in 15.2 innings. Wednesday's start was a huge sign that he can be called upon for big innings and perhaps is a step in getting Liberatore back into the starting rotation permanently.
If the Cardinals can keep their momentum going into the All-Star break they can be one of the best teams in baseball coming into the second half. A disastrous 2023 has led to an optimistic summer 2024 in St. Louis.
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