NEW YORK — On the pages of what he called his “execution journal,†Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore meticulously tracks, start by start, what type of pitch he throws and how well he executes it with every 0-0 or 1-1 count — the counts a pitcher can win to take advantage in an at-bat.
The bookkeeping is all part of a shift in mindset by Liberatore to trust his stuff in the strike zone even at the highest level.
He was asked how that shows up in the results.
“How about three six-inning outings in a row?†the lefty said. “You can’t do that unless you’re super-efficient.â€
There is another tangible benefit, and it’s an important statistic that Liberatore, in his first season as a full-time starter in the bigs, leads the majors. The young starter will be updating his journal Saturday night after his fourth start of the season, and into his appearance against the New York Mets Liberatore takes the lowest walk rate of any pitcher this season with at least 12 innings pitched. Liberatore has one walk in 18 1/3 innings for a 1.4%, just below the second-best of 1.5% by Baltimore’s Zach Eflin. Colorado Kyle Freeland is third at 2.0%
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Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore sits in the dugout in the fourth inning of game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, April 13, 2025, at Busch Stadium.
Liberatore also has the lowest walks-per-nine rate of any pitcher with at least 12 innings thrown so far this season. His 0.49 BB/9 is just below Eflin’s 0.50 BB/9 and well ahead of third-place Nathan Eovaldi’s 0.73 BB/9.
Liberatore traces his success not throwing a fourth ball to getting that first strike.
“I kind of went through last year and spent a lot of time trying to be perfect and execute perfect pitches, and when you do that you have to get back in the count somehow,†Liberatore said. “So I was throwing a lot of what I should be throwing 0-0 instead at 2-0 counts and 3-1 counts or 2-1 counts when guys are sold out to those exact pitches. Instead of letting the hitter know that is what’s coming and letting him sell out to it, how about I do that 0-0 and take my chances of letting him clip me in the zone? There is a stat that 92% of first-pitch strikes favor the pitcher in the outcome.
“If I go through 100 first-pitch strikes and eight times that puts a ball in play let alone the 2% it’s a home run or extra-base hit — that’s pretty good odds right there.â€
Liberatore could recite the numbers because pitching coach Dusty Blake has emphasized to all pitchers the value of strike one and what he calls the “race for strike two.†At times, the Cardinals’ resolute bullpen kept track of first-pitch strikes as a form of competition. Former pitching coach Mike Maddux presented statistics to the pitching staff about the batting average and slugging percentage on first-pitch strikes and how radically it shifts an at-bat.
“The last step,†Liberatore said ahead of his start vs. the Mets, “was me really buying into it. I don’t care if I get hit 0-0, I’m going to come at you anyways.â€
He had the numbers noted for what happened when he didn’t.
In 2024, when Liberatore made a few starts and more than 50 appearances in relief for the Cardinals, opponents hit .186 and slugged .287 against the lefty when he got ahead 0-1. When batters got ahead, 1-0, they hit .324 and slugged .528 for an .962 OPS against him. The difference between 2-1 and 1-2 was a .529 slugging percentage and .253 slugging, respectively. In short, the game. This season, the small sample sizes and his overall success skew the numbers closer together, but he’s gotten ahead of more batters 0-1 than fallen behind, 32 to 28, and same with 2-1 and 1-2. (He’s also yet to give up an extra-base hit when the batter is ahead.)
“It’s an overarching message to the staff,†manager Oliver Marmol said. “He’s got good enough stuff to get you out in the zone and then put you away out of the zone. It’s nice to know you can do it without getting chase.â€
Two of Liberatore’s three starts so far this season have been quality starts. It is the first time that he’s authored three consecutive six-inning starts since he was in Class AAA. In his previous two before Saturday’s, Liberatore struck 14 batters and allowed 11 hits in 12 1/3 innings. The one walk — his one walk so far of the season — came in the first inning of his most recent start, and he ended that trouble with a strikeout on the way to six shutout innings against the Phillies.
He did have to come back from a 2-0 count for that strikeout.
That would be one in the journal where the execution was off.
“I think it’s just mindset, honestly,†Liberatore said. “If you can throw your breaking ball for a chase, you can throw it for a strike. Same thing for the fastball. If you can throw it above the zone for chase, you can throw it in the zone. Where do I need to aim to give you the greatest opportunity to be in the zone, and then you start thinking about expanding or painting the corner or trying to dot a gnat’s (butt) with something.â€
Dean’s welcome advice
A day before he got to put the advice into action in front of thousands of Mets fans, Matt Svanson got a tip from assistant pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer about making his major-league debut.
“Pick up the catcher so you’re not paying attention to anything else,†Svanson repeated. “It felt just like baseball at the time.â€
In a fitting twist of the schedule, Svanson made his big-league debut Thursday night with a scoreless seventh inning against the Mets and Citi Field. He had family in attendance, and the game was close enough for his coach from Lehigh University to drive up from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and be present for the debut of the 6-foot-5 right-hander who had 27 saves this past season at Class AA Springfield. Svanson’s inning ended with Nolan Arenado snagging a liner that would have produced a run but instead was the third out.
Svanson, 26, bombarded the Mets with his sinker, averaging 96.2 mph with it. He touched 97.3 mph on the sinker.
As a souvenir, the Cardinals did snag the baseball from Svanson’s first big-league out.
“Ninety-six, 97 (mph) with good sink,†Marmol said. “A guy who fills up the zone. Make your debut here, this is a good environment for it and he seemed under control. Definitely usable.â€
Winn starts rehab, etc.
As advertised, Masyn Winn (sore lower back) began his rehab assignment with Class AAA Memphis on Friday and played six innings in the field at shortstop. He struck out in all three of his at-bats. Winn is set to play for the Redbirds through the weekend and prepare to join the Cardinals, if healthy, in Atlanta on Monday. He’s eligible to come off the injury list Tuesday. … Victor Scott II appeared on MLB Network’s “MLB Central” and spoke about the speed element of his game and his approach at the plate with former Cardinals infielder Mark DeRosa. He’s the first Cardinal with seven stolen bases in the team’s first 18 games since Ray Lankford had 10 in 1992. … Adam Wainwright is set to be part of the broadcast on FOX for Saturday’s game against the Mets at Citi Field. … The Cardinals’ annual 5K run originally scheduled for Saturday has been postponed to May 31 due to the forecast for soggy, angry weather. Rescheduling the race reopens registration for it on the team’s web site, .
