Matthew Liberatore pulled in fourth against Cubs

Liberatore struck out nine today for the second time in three starts. He’s now done that five times this year after never doing so in 53 career starts coming into 2026. Unfortunately, though, the extra strikeouts just haven’t brought Liberatore much success. Two more homers today took his season total to 25 in 134 2/3 innings, which is a big reason why he’s 5-13 with a 5.41 ERA. He’ll pitch in Colorado next weekend.

Liberatore lost a fourth straight start to 5-12 with a 5.44 ERA. Still, his job security has improved due to injuries to Andre Pallante and Hunter Dobbins. He’ll likely face the Pirates on Sunday.

Liberatore finished with a quality start as he struck out nine without walking anyone. All three runs he surrendered came via a Sal Stewart homer in the bottom of the sixth. The left-hander has been inconsistent with a 5.04 ERA on the season, but Wednesday’s outing was one of his better performances despite the late stumble. He’s scheduled for a home start against the Orioles next time out.

He deserved better here. Liberatore threw five one-hit innings to start the game, induced a pop up to Pete-Crow Armstrong with runners on first and third and nobody out, then watched helplessly as George Soriano allowed a three-run homer to Seiya Suzuki to cash the inherited runners. Liberatore has a 3.96 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over his last seven starts. We wouldn’t recommend streaming him in Cincinnati next week, but he could be useful in the right matchup down the stretch.

Liberatore gave up nine hits — one of those a homer — and two walks, and he struck out three. It’s a far-cry from the six scoreless the southpaw threw last weekend against the Blue Jays, and much more indicative of his struggles on the season as seen in a 5.15 ERA. He’ll have a chance to rebound against the Cubs on Friday, but there’s more risk than reward in Liberatore’s profile.

Liberatore allowed one hit and walked one while striking out seven. He threw 66 percent of his pitches for strikes and had a 13 percent swinging strike rate. In fact, this is now his fourth straight start with a swinging strike rate of at least 13 percent, so even though the results have been inconsistent, Liberatore is starting to miss more bats. He’ll try to keep this going at home against the Rockies next week.

It sounds like the plan is for Dobbins, who was originally scheduled to start Tuesday’s game, to piggyback with Matthew Liberatore in this one. It’s a tough development fantasy-wise since it caps his potential volume upside. He struck out five over six shutout innings against the Angels last Wednesday.

The Angels were all over Liberatore at the start of this one. Four hits would put three runs on the board before Jo Adell made it a five-run first inning with a two-run homer before Liberatore could get out of trouble. He salvaged his day by settling in to pitch into the sixth without giving up another run, leaving with one out in the inning at 95 pitches. He struck out seven. The 26-year-old left-hander will take a 5.18 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, and a 95/38 K/BB ratio across 99 innings into a start against the Cubs in St. Louis on Monday.

Liberatore gave up four hits, walked one and struck out six. He improved to 5-6 with the win. Liberatore has won two of his last three starts. The 26-year-old left-hander was excellent Saturday as he shutdown the Braves’ offense. Liberatore takes a 5.00 ERA into the All-Star break, though his 4.37 xFIP points to better starts in the future.

The one run came in the third, when Jorge Mateo singled, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sac fly. With two lefties due up, the Cardinals brought Liberatore back out for the sixth at 92 pitches. However, he walked Matt Olson to start the inning and was pulled. Liberatore’s nine strikeouts came up one shy of his career high from last month. He fanned 10 Brewers in a loss on May 25 and then went his last five starts without ever striking out more than four batters. The rebound ensures that he’ll continue to stick in the rotation and face the Cubs on Sunday. Still, there’s not a lot to like here at the moment.