ST. LOUIS -- Rather than sit in silence for hours and endlessly pore over game plans and analytical data -- something that likely would have made him worry even more about facing Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner -- Cardinals left-handed pitcher Matthew Liberatore stuck to his usual pregame routine on Sunday, concerning himself only with the right-hander across from him.
As in right-handed reliever Ryan Fernandez.
And not on the Busch Stadium playing surface, but instead at the red ping-pong table in the Cardinals' clubhouse just steps away from the dressing stalls for Liberatore and Fernandez.
Whereas most pitchers don¡¯t like anyone looking at them -- much less talking to them -- on days when they are scheduled to start, the affable Liberatore prefers to keep his routine the same whether he¡¯s pitching or not. That almost always means a ping-pong showdown against Fernandez, and their rallies often hit double-digits, with their patient styles of play that include plenty of spin and deception. So, 90 minutes before Liberatore would face off against Harper, Schwarber and Turner, he was facing Fernandez in an epic five-game showdown that he won, 3-2.
¡°I think [ping-pong] is a big part of where the routines and processes have come up big for me, because something I struggled with in my first two years was how I should act on start day,¡± said Liberatore, whose six innings of scoreless work helped the Cardinals beat the Phillies, 7-0. ¡°That whole notion of treating it like ¡®start day¡¯ made me more nervous than I needed to be. There are things you do on start day, but when I¡¯ve checked all the boxes on what I need to get done and I still have free time, I don¡¯t have to spend it trying to do something serious.
¡°Playing ping-pong before pitching keeps me loose. You can¡¯t return a ball with spin on it if you¡¯re nervous or tense. It gives me time to disconnect, have fun and be teammates. Besides, it¡¯s not me going out there [alone]; it¡¯s us.¡±
Liberatore¡¯s pregame ping-pong work gave him the confidence to put together his best outing of the season against a rugged Phillies lineup. Over his six innings, Liberatore allowed just three hits and one walk to go with seven strikeouts. He deftly pitched out of trouble over the first three innings -- a stretch that included six full-count scenarios -- and he retired his final 11 batters, including three straight perfect innings to end his outing.
¡°Having the ability to change it up and keep them off-balance by working in, out, up, down, hard, soft -- that combination helped me,¡± Liberatore said.
Assured by the Cardinals that his spot in the rotation is a full-time appointment and not some emergency fill-in role like the one he had in years prior, Liberatore has started to blossom with conviction and confidence.
That confidence was on display on Sunday with how he altered his pitch mix. Entering the day, Liberatore had leaned more on his four-seam fastball (32.1% usage) compared to his slider (21.1%) and sinker (18.2%). On Sunday, 32% of his pitches were sliders, and of the 15 swings taken against it, 10 resulted in whiffs.
¡°He used his stuff, and it was awesome,¡± said manager Oliver Marmol, whose Cardinals snapped a 13-series winless streak (0-9-4) against the Phillies that dated to 2017. ¡°Against some of the [Phillies] who are overly aggressive, he didn¡¯t give in when he got behind in counts. He threw some good 2-0 changeups and 2-1 sliders. His mix was good, and he was able to beat some guys out of the zone and some guys in the zone.¡±
Liberatore, 25, has been able to find his zone by playing ping-pong with Fernandez before games, during rain delays and any time they are free. When Liberatore moved from a relief role to a starting spot this season, Fernandez admitted to being somewhat skittish about asking for a ping-pong showdown.
Liberatore¡¯s ping-pong answer: Play ball!
¡°On his first start, I went about it kind of carefully and I was like, ¡®Do you want to do your own thing today? Or do you want to play ping-pong?'¡± Fernandez recalled. ¡°He said, ¡®Of course we¡¯re still doing ping-pong!¡¯ Obviously, we don¡¯t play as much as we would on a normal day, but it¡¯s awesome he still goes about his routine the way he would any other day.¡±
Liberatore and Fernandez have started keeping track of the daily ping-pong outcomes so that a full-season winner can be declared. So far, Liberatore has a slight edge.
¡°Baseball is our job and we take it very seriously, but that doesn¡¯t mean we have to dedicate 24 hours a day to working,¡± Liberatore said. ¡°There is too much work sometimes. Having a good balance of fun and doing your work is important.¡±