Matthew Liberatore's roller-coaster start reminiscent of Cardinals tenure thus far

After giving away Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels, the St. Louis Cardinals called upon left-hander Matthew Liberatore to get the club back on track Tuesday. While Liberatore ended up with a quality start and no decision, there were still some alarming signs in his game that will need monitoring.

It's just one start for Liberatore, and I am a fan of the Cardinals giving him another shot in the rotation, but the same problems that have plagued him in the past crept up on him in this start. Liberatore was able to cover six innings of work on just 77 pitches, striking out four batters while allowing three runs on six hits, with all three of those runs coming in the third inning.

Liberatore has struggled to get right-handed hitters out throughout his career, and to no one's surprise, all six of the hits he surrendered on Tuesday came against right-handed hitters. It is going to be very difficult for Liberatore to maintain a role as a starter long term if he cannot figure that out.

Liberatore's fastball velocity sat between 93-94 MPH, which has also been an issue for him when starting games. LIberatore is capable of hitting the upper 90s out of the bullpen, but he's not been able to maintain that kind of velocity in the rotation. It doesn't seem like a wise gameplan to him to throw his fastballs 62% of the time when his off-speed stuff grades out so well.

I focused on the negatives a lot, but it was good to see Liberatore pitch with confidence. He did not shy away from his fastball, and he filled the zone all night long. Outside of the third inning, he held the Angels in check, but those big innings are going to be a problem for him if he does not refine his attack strategy moving forward.

Liberatore has flashed promise in the rotation before, but never consistently. The Cardinals have not done him many favors though in recent years, switching his role up on him midseason and moving him back and forth from the bullpen to the rotation. Liberatore has been highly effective as a reliever, but obviously being able to produce in the rotation would be the ideal outcome.

Liberatore had a strong camp for the Cardinals, which is why they decided to go with him over Steven Matz in the rotation. But with arms like Michael McGreevy and Quinn Mathews knocking on the door, he will have to produce early on in the year to maintain his rotation spot.