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Cardinals' Left-Hander Breaks 2 1/2-Month Winless Skid with Strong Outing in Victory
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- Cardinals' Left-Hander Breaks 2 1/2-Month Winless Skid with Strong Outing in Victory
Roundtable Sports' John Denton analyzes the Cardinals ' 5-1 defeat of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.
Matthew Liberatore won for the first time in 13 starts, anda St. Louis Cardinals offense that was largely punchless in a Tuesday lossbounced back in a big way on Wednesday night.
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Alec Burleson drove in his MLB-leading 112th run,rookies JJ Wetherholt and Leo Bernal plated runs and Liberatore snapped aneight-game losing streak as the Cardinals defeated the Pirates 5-1 at PNC Park.
A night after being limited to just one hit in a 2-0 lossto Pittsburgh, the Cards hammered out nine hits. Wetherholt, who grew up innearby Mars, Pa., and going to Pirates games as a child, had three hits, a walkand a run scored. It was Wetherholt's best game since returning from the InjuredList with right wrist tendinitis.
"I don't know (why he has hit so well in Pittsburgh), but it's where I grew up and I just get really excited to play here," Wetherholt told Cardinals TV. "I get to stay with my parents and it's always great to see them. And I get to see my dog and my cat. So, I think it frees me up a little bit to take my mind off the game. Then, when I get here, it's go time."
Also of note, Ivan Herrera was hit by a pitch in the leftelbow in the seventh inning to tie a 116-year record. Herrera was hit for anMLB-most 31st time, tying the previous Cardinals record set by SteveEvans in 1910.
Liberatore limited the Pirates to six hits and one earnedrun over 5 2/3 innings, while striking out six and walking none. Liberatore (6-14)won for the first time since beating the Braves on July 11. Over that time, hehad gone 0-8 with four no decisions.
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"He needed that and we needed that," manager Oliver Marmol said to Cardinals TV after the game. "For him to go out and do what he did today, it was important."
The lone blemish for Liberatore was a 434-foot homer by Brandon Lowe in the second inning. Lowe hit a center-cut fastball over the seatsin right field for his 34th homer of the season.
The Cardinals took the lead in the third inning with threeruns in the inning and two more in the fourth. After Wetherholt led off thethird with a walk and Herrera walked, Burleson drilled a line drive intoright-center for another RBI. Burleson pushed his RBI total to 112 – two morethan Baltimore 's Pete Alonso and Cincinnati 's Sal Stewart .
After Herrera scored on a wild pitch, Bernal came throughagain to drive in Burleson from second base. It was the rookie's 18thRBI in 19 games this season.
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The Cardinals added onto the lead in the fourth inning when Masyn Winn doubled in Jose Fermin, who was running on the pitch and scored fromfirst base. Wetherholt followed with another hit to drive in Winn and push theCardinals lead to 5-1.
Luis Gastelum, Ryan Stanek and George Soriano pitched 3 1/3innings of scoreless relief to help Liberatore break his long losing streak.
"Really, it was just about (Liberatore) dominating the whole game," Wetherholt said of his teammate. "Libby this year, he's been so good, but there would be one inning that would get him, and that's been terrible to see because it was ruin good starts. Today was completely different because from his first pitch to his last, he was dominating. It was a really good job by him, and it was great to see."
