Matthew Liberatore (3-5, 5.56 ERA) draws Martín Pérez at Truist Park, with first pitch at 7:15 PM ET. On paper that's a significant mismatch — Pérez has quietly been one of the better stories in the NL this year, while Liberatore has spent June actively destroying his trade value and making Cardinals front-office people type things they'll regret into Slack.
Liberatore is 0-2 with a 10.34 ERA across his 4 June starts, averaging under 4 innings per outing. His last time out against Arizona on June 24 went 5.1 innings with 6 earned runs and 8 hits on 98 pitches — the kind of line that accelerates conversations about demotions and bullpen moves. Per reporting from BVM Sports, the Cardinals are now openly weighing their options with him ahead of the trade deadline. Pérez, on the other hand, earned his rotation spot the hard way after signing a minor league deal in January and working his way into a real role. His ERA sits at 3.00 through 10 starts. His last outing against San Diego was messier than usual — 4 innings, 3 earned runs, 4 walks on 82 pitches — but the season-long numbers are legitimate.
The shared misery between these two clubs is real. Atlanta's offense has been a problem: during a 4-12 stretch that's chipped their NL East lead down to 3 games over the Phillies, the Braves have been shut out twice and scored 3 or fewer runs in 10 of those 16 games. Austin Riley went 4-for-21 on the West Coast road trip and is hitting .209. The Cardinals are equally uninspiring — they went L-T-L-L-W in their last 5, the tie being a 0-0 result against Arizona that somehow counts on anyone's ledger, and they're now just a half-game ahead in the NL wild-card race. This opener is the first Cardinals-Braves meeting of the season, and it's the kind of game where the team that strings 3 hits together first might just win.
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson RP — Thompson (shoulder) has been shut down due to an intercostal strain, Amber Winkler of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DaySem Robberse SP — Robberse (elbow) has been sent to the Cardinals' Florida Complex League affiliate to begin a rehab assignment.
- Day-To-DayPacky Naughton RP — Naughton will undergo surgery next month to repair the damaged UCL in his left elbow, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
- Day-To-DayVictor Santos RP — The Red Sox traded Santos (undisclosed) and Nick Robertson to the Cardinals on Friday in exchange for Tyler O'Neill (foot), Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
- Day-To-DayIxan Henderson SP — Henderson (elbow) is starting the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis.
- 15-Day-ILRyan Fernandez RP — Fernandez (back) is on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
- 60-Day-ILRamon Urias 3B — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
- 10-Day-ILKyle Farmer DH — Farmer (forearm) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Columbus on Tuesday.
- 10-Day-ILRonald Acuna Jr. RF — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Wednesday that Acuna (hamstring) is a "long way" from returning from the 10-day injured list, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILRobert Suarez RP — An MRI on Suarez's right elbow came back negative Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
- suspensionJurickson Profar LF — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach SP — Schwellenbach (elbow) will likely report to Atlanta's spring training facility in early July and could be a candidate to rejoin the major-league rotation by late August or early September, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver SP — Smith-Shawver (elbow) is slated to make the first start of his rehab assignment Tuesday with Single-A Augusta, Barrett Sallee of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.
- 60-Day-ILDanny Young RP — Young (elbow) walked and hit a batter but struck out three in a scoreless inning in his first rehab appearance with Double-A Columbus on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Strider SP — Atlanta transferred Strider (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.
The Braves' injury situation is staggering. Ronald Acuña Jr. is a "long way" from returning per manager Walt Weiss — it's the same hamstring spot as his earlier 2026 injury, and Atlanta is being extra cautious this time. Spencer Strider is on the 60-day IL. Spencer Schwellenbach is on the 60-day IL. Jurickson Profar is out for the entire season after his PED appeal was denied. Sean Murphy has a fractured finger. That's your superstar outfielder, both projected top-of-rotation arms, your left fielder, and your catcher — all unavailable. The 49-33 record is legitimately impressive in that context, which makes the current slide feel more like a natural correction than a collapse.
The real pressure tonight falls on Pérez. The Braves can not afford another short start — their bullpen has been worked hard during this skid, and if Liberatore gets chased before the 5th and forces both pens into overtime, Atlanta's depth advantage disappears fast. The Cardinals do not need their starter to be good; they just need him to be survivable long enough to make this interesting. At 43-38 and fighting for a playoff spot, St. Louis takes what it can get.