On Wednesday, the St. Louis Cardinals turned to young left-hander Matthew Liberatore as they hoped to secure a series win against the division rival Milwaukee Brewers.
Starting in place of Adam Wainwright, who was pushed back a day, Liberatore gave the Cards five scoreless innings.
But over those five innings, the young left-hander and No. 92 prospect in MLB brought the heat against the Brewers.
His fastball topped out at 97.6 mph in his return to the big leagues.
Liberatore used his velocity as a valuable tool on his way to earning his first win of the 2023 season and helping the Cardinals gain ground on the Brewers.
On Twitter, MLB Pipeline posted some interesting stats which show how well his fastball was working against the Brewers.
Matthew Liberatore is back!
MLB's No. 92 prospect had his fastball and curve working to fan 6 across five scoreless frames in his 2023 @Cardinals debut.
95.6 mph
97.6
79.8
77.9
77.9
94.5 pic.twitter.com/aJ6Lq9qDHA— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 18, 2023
Liberatore also made good use of his curveball, mixing it in with his fastball as he carved his way through the Brewers lineup.
The Cardinals have been in desperate need of some starting pitching help after a disastrous start to the 2023 season.
However, they appear to have found at least a temporary solution by calling up Liberatore, who could help improve the rotation while they wait for the trade deadline to draw nearer.
The 23-year-old had a record of 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA over eight starts with Triple-A Memphis.
He was the big piece that came back to the Cardinals from the Tampa Bay Rays in the Randy Arozarena deal.
His first impression was certainly a good one as he led the Cardinals to an important victory, which allowed them to gain some ground on the NL Central-leading Brewers.
NEXT: Adam Wainwright Hypes Up Cardinals Prospect After Dominant Start
