ST. LOUIS — The last time Matthew Liberatore was asked to start a game for the Cardinals, he got about 15 minutes notice. Kyle Gibson, the scheduled starter that day in Miami, came up with tightness and was unable to pitch.
Liberatore got a little more notice before his start on Wednesday night in the second game of a day-night doubleheader against the Braves, the result of a rainout on Tuesday night.
He was more than ready for the challenge.
Liberatore worked a season-high six innings, shutting out the Braves on two hits as the Cardinals earned a split of the doubleheader at Busch Stadium with a 4-1 victory. Liberatore walked one and struck out eight.
He once again was following Gibson to the mound, who made the start in the first game of the DH and struggled with his control, walking five, as the Braves won 6-2.
That loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Cardinals, who have now won five of their last six games.
Here is how Wednesday’s two games broke down:
At the plate: After being held to four hits in the day game, the Cardinals used a two-run double from Alec Burleson to give Liberatore a lead in the third inning … He and the bullpen made that lead standup before Paul Goldschmidt and Brendan Donovan each delivered RBI singles in the eighth inning … Burleson, Donovan and Michael Siani each had a two-hit night, and Burleson also drove in one of the runs for the Cardinals in the day game … Nolan Arenado returned to the lineup and was a combined 1-of-8 in the two games. He was dropped to sixth in the batting order, the first time he has started a game in that spot in the order since 2014.
On the mound: Gibson gave up four runs in the second inning in the day game and left the game after the fourth. He had not pitched since June 14 … The Braves scored two additional runs off Kyle Leahy … After Liberatore’s big game in the night game, Chris Roycroft – serving as the 27th man for the doubleheader, worked a scoreless inning … JoJo Romero allowed an inherited runner to score, charged to Andrew Kittredge, in the eighth … Ryan Helsley pitched around a single and a walk in the ninth to close out the win and earn his 28th save.
Key stat: In 24 games this month, Burleson has gone 28-of-93, a .301 average, with a team-leading 19 RBIs. He is tied with Donovan for the most hits on the team in June.
Worth noting: Tommy Edman’s recovery from the off-season surgery on his right wrist has hit another snag. He suffered a sprained ankle while fielding groundballs on Tuesday and now will have to wait for that injury to heal before he can resume his workouts. He had been expected to be ready for a minor-league rehab assignment as early as next week … Lars Nootbaar also has been taking batting practice on the field and also could be getting close to beginning a rehab assignment.
Looking ahead: The rainout reshuffled the Cardinals’ rotation, with Miles Mikolas now set to start on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series against the Reds at Busch Stadium.