Matthew Liberatore carried a shutout into the sixth and Masyn Winn added key offense as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Sunday night, with JJ Wetherholt and Iván Herrera both driving in runs.
ST. LOUIS — Matthew Liberatore walked off the mound with a shutout hanging in the air, and for a moment it felt like it might hold all the way through. He had taken it into the sixth inning with everything working—no runs allowed, no fear—before the Cubs finally got to him.
Masyn Winn kept St. Louis in control with a two-run single, and the Cardinals finished the job with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night.
Wetherholt and Iván Herrera each had two hits and scored twice for St. Louis, which took two of three from its NL Central rivals after entering the series on a four-game losing streak.
For Chicago, Alex Bregman spoiled the shutout with a homer to left field in the sixth off his former teammate, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. The Cubs came in with momentum of their own, going 3-2 since a 10-game skid.
Liberatore’s night ended after 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and one walk, struck out four, and—despite the scoreless start—his previous three starts had included at least three runs allowed in each one.
Hunter Dobbins took over later, relieving Liberatore hours after being recalled from Triple-A Memphis. Dobbins gave the Cardinals more stability than the scoreline might suggest, yielding one run on four hits with four strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings for his first professional save.
St. Louis jumped on the scoreboard early. Alec Burleson blooped an RBI single off Ethan Roberts that landed just in front of left fielder Ian Happ to make it 3-0 in the third. Winn’s two-run single pushed the margin to 5-0.
Jordan Walker added an RBI single for the Cardinals in a two-run first.
Chicago didn’t make it easy after that, but Jordan Wicks couldn’t stop the early damage. Wicks was charged with three runs and four hits in two-plus innings and was removed after Wetherholt reached on an infield single leading off the third.
The Cardinals opened a 2-0 lead in the first after Wetherholt, Herrera and Walker all singled to start the bottom of the first.
The win set up what comes next for both clubs. The Cubs will open a six-game homestand Tuesday night with RHP Jameson Taillon (2-4. 5.37 ERA) facing Athletics LHP Gage Jump (0-1. 7.20). For St. Louis, RHP Michael McGreevy (3-4, 2.98 ERA) faces Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom (3-4, 3.77) to begin a three-game series Monday night.
St. Louis Cardinals Chicago Cubs Matthew Liberatore Masyn Winn JJ Wetherholt Iván Herrera Hunter Dobbins Alex Bregman Jordan Wicks
Shutout gone in the 6th… so basically it was all pointless lol.
Bregman hitting a homer off his former team is lowkey hilarious. Cubs really love ruining other people’s milestones apparently.
I thought Cardinals already lost like 4 straight? Then they win 5-1 and suddenly everyone’s MVP? Also why is Dobbins called up “hours after” like that’s normal…
Liberatore had it going then gave up 1 homer and that’s the whole game… I mean 5-0 early is what decided it right? But the article keeps saying Cubs “momentum” like 3-2 means something. Anyway Taillon vs Jump Tuesday, I guess Cubs still got this if they score first??