ST. LOUIS -- A fixture of the Cardinals' future, left-hander Matthew Liberatore took another major step on Wednesday night when he held his velocity and flashed some stellar swing-and-miss stuff against an Athletics team that has feasted on lefties for most of 2025.

Liberatore pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out seven to earn his first victory since June 29 in the Cardinals' 5-1 defeat of the Athletics in the finale of the three-game series at Busch Stadium.

Liberatore, who was making the 50th start of his young MLB career, got all the offensive support he needed from first baseman Willson Contreras, who flared a single into right field that Athletics right fielder Brent Rooker either misjudged or lost in the lights for a hit in the third inning. Masyn Winn and Iván Herr

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