Matthew Liberatore delivered a much-needed quality start, striking out nine while allowing just one run over five innings, as the St. Louis Cardinals topped the Atlanta Braves 5-3 on Tuesday night at Truist Park.
The left-hander, who entered the contest with a 5.56 ERA, scattered one hit and walked four but kept the Braves off balance with an impressive strikeout total. His performance helped stabilize a Cardinals staff that has been searching for consistency from its starters.
St. Louis jumped on Atlanta starter Martin Perez in the fourth inning. Nelson Velazquez homered to center to tie the game at 1-1, and Nathan Church followed with a three-run shot to right that plated Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn, giving the Cardinals a 4-1 lead. The visitors added an insurance run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Blaze Jordan.
The Braves chipped away with an RBI sacrifice fly from Ozzie Albies in the third and another in the seventh. They closed the gap to 5-3 in the eighth on a wild pitch that allowed Mauricio Dubon to score, but the Cardinals’ bullpen held firm the rest of the way.
Riley O’Brien, the Cardinals’ reliable closer, has now recorded 21 saves at the season’s midway point, continuing to anchor the back end of St. Louis’ relief corps.
The victory improves the Cardinals to 43-38, keeping them in the thick of the NL Central race. Atlanta fell to 49-33 despite strong overall positioning in the NL East. Both teams will meet again Wednesday in the middle game of this series.
