51黑料

Before he caught Matthew Liberatore鈥檚 early April start in Pittsburgh following his call up to the majors, catcher Yohel Pozo鈥檚 work with the left-handed starter had been limited to one bullpen session during spring training.

That day in Pittsburgh, the two greeted each other upon Pozo鈥檚 arrival to the visitors clubhouse and went through a pregame meeting to go over a game plan against the Pirates. They navigated 6 1/3 innings in a start where Liberatore allowed five runs. Th outing marked the first of seven they have made together as they鈥檝e quickly built a rapport in season.

Their work continued on Saturday when Liberatore, 25, and Pozo, 27, worked seven innings together and limited the Diamondbacks to one run in a 6-5 win at Busch Stadium. The effort lowered Liberatore鈥檚 ERA on the season to 2.73 through 59 1/3 innings and to a 2.36 mark in 42 innings when working with Pozo.

鈥淭he second time I caught him (Liberatore), it went much better because I already knew how he liked to pitch,鈥� Pozo said Sunday in Spanish. 鈥淎nd now the confidence has grown in what I call and how I set myself up to where he likes his pitches and all that.鈥�

Pozo鈥檚 work with Liberatore began with the lefty allowing four runs through his first two innings vs. the Pirates on April 7. That night, Liberatore said Pozo suggested they begin pitching 鈥渂ackwards鈥� to Pirates hitters after they jumped on the lefty for three runs in the second inning. The in-game communication helped Liberatore and Pozo limit the Pirates to one run over the next 4 2/3 innings they worked together that night and represented a dynamic that has kept them a steady battery for the Cardinals.

Saturday鈥檚 start marked Liberatore鈥檚 seventh quality start this season, five of which are with Pozo. Liberatore limited Arizona to one run on six hits and did not walk a batter while matching a season high in innings pitched. He previously reached a season high of seven inning on May 6 vs. the Pirates at Busch Stadium 鈥� in a start with Pozo, of course.

鈥淗e鈥檚 awesome. Super-receptive. Open to anything that I want to do,鈥� Liberatore said of Pozo. 鈥淗e does his homework. He鈥檚 prepared. I feel really confident placing my trust in him with calling the game. We communicate really well together throughout the game. It鈥檚 been a lot of fun to work with.鈥�

At the time of Pozo鈥檚 promotion the majors, the Cardinals were in need of an additional catcher to work alongside Pedro Pages following Ivan Herrera鈥檚 placement on the injured list for a left knee injury. They鈥檝e kept Pozo in the majors following Herrera鈥檚 activation as Herrera hits regularly from the designated hitter spot.

The regularity in catching Liberatore鈥檚 starts has allowed Pozo to focus on familiarizing himself with Liberatore while getting to know the rest of the pitching staff, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol explained.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been good to keep that combo together,鈥� Marmol said Sunday.

After signing a minor league deal with the Cardinals in January, Pozo received a non-roster invite to big league camp during the second week of March. The move gave the Cardinals a glimpse of the catching depth they鈥檇 have behind Herrera and Pages if they needed to tap into it and allowed Pozo to start building a rapport with the members of the pitching staff.

When talking about his work to get to know Liberatore, Pozo said communication has been a key factor as well as using Liberatore鈥檚 bullpen sessions in getting their relationship with one another to grow.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not complicated, but since you don鈥檛 know the person, you鈥檙e not on the same page,鈥� Pozo said in Spanish. 鈥淢aybe you don鈥檛 feel comfortable that day, but after we started getting to know each other and getting on the same page, everything got better.鈥�

Contreras gone again

Willson Contreras was not in the Cardinals lineup on Sunday, marking his third consecutive game without starting as he deals with back spams. Contreras met with the Cardinals training staff Sunday and had planned to hit before the series finale against the Diamondbacks.

On Saturday, Marmol expressed optimism that Contreras would be back on Sunday. Contreras had been in Friday鈥檚 starting lineup but was scratched about an hour before first pitch when the back spasm again popped up.

Marmol said Contreras had shown some 鈥減rogress鈥� on Saturday despite not being available off the bench and noted he does not believe the injury would cause Contreras to land on the injured list.

Mathews makes rehab start

Top pitching prospect Quinn Mathews continued his minor league rehab assignment for a left shoulder injury on Sunday with a start for Class Low-A Palm Beach. Mathews, the Cardinals鈥� and Baseball America鈥檚 minor league pitcher of the year in 2024, completed three scoreless innings on 45 pitches. He allowed three hits and struck out four.

Mathews鈥� fastball velocity touched 94.9 mph and averaged 94 mph, per Statcast.