Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Shaky in spot start

Liberatore (2-3) took the loss Wednesday, coughing up five runs on four hits and three walks over three-plus innings as the Cardinals were downed 5-0 by the Pirates. He struck out three.

The southpaw got a spot start at the end of a stretch of six games in five days for St. Louis, but Liberatore hadn't pitched since July 14 and looked rusty as Pittsburgh ambushed him for four runs in the second inning, before he served up a solo shot to Rowdy Tellez to lead off the fourth. Liberatore tossed 69 pitches (43 strikes) before exiting, which will leave him unavailable out of the bullpen for a few more days. Through 55 innings this season, he carries a 4.75 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 44:20 K:BB.