Liberatore (3-3, 4.48) draws Connor Prielipp (2-4, 5.15) at 1:10 PM CT in a Saturday matinee that looked very different 24 hours ago. The Cardinals carried a lead into the 7th on Friday and walked out of the building on the wrong side of a 9-8 final. Now they get a lefty matchup with two starters who've been streaky all spring.
Liberatore is the more stable arm of the two, even if the ERA doesn't scream it. Cardinals beat writers have been pointing out his splits: roughly a 3.20 ERA the first time through and something close to 9.50 the third time. That makes how Oli Marmol handles the 5th inning the actual game within the game. Prielipp, meanwhile, is the 25-year-old lefty whose three-pitch mix had him posting a 2.88 ERA through his first 5 starts before the league started catching up — he's at 49 punchies in 43.2 innings and still misses bats.
The Twins enter as the team that just snapped a brutal stretch by erupting late. Royce Lewis tied Friday's game on the first pitch he saw from Ryne Stanek in the 8th, Brooks Lee followed with the go-ahead bomb, and Byron Buxton was on base all night. That's the third Buxton/Lewis/Lee multi-hit night this week, and it came against a Cardinals bullpen that's been thin since Ryan Fernandez landed on the IL. Walker Jenkins is also expected to start his rehab assignment in Fort Myers this weekend, which puts a real return on the calendar for the first time in over a month.
On the Cardinals side, this is a roster that barely resembles the one that broke camp — Arenado, Goldschmidt, Contreras and Donovan are all gone, and the lineup runs through Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and JJ Wetherholt. Walker had a 3-run double in Friday's loss and Burleson is locked in. They're 37-30 and playing better than the names on the page suggest, but a 5th-game-in-5-days bullpen is the kind of thing that bleeds quickly in a 1 PM start.
- 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-DaySem Robberse SP — Robberse (elbow) signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Monday, which includes an invitation to spring training, 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.
- Day-To-DayZack Thompson RP — The Cardinals reassigned Thompson (shoulder) to minor-league camp Monday.
- 15-Day-ILRyan Fernandez RP — The Cardinals recalled Fernandez from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday.
- 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.
- Day-To-DayWalker Jenkins CF — Jenkins (shoulder) could start a rehab assignment with Single-A Fort Myers as soon as Saturday, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.
- Day-To-DayJulian Merryweather RP — Merryweather (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with the Twins' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate Tuesday, Theodore Tollefson of ZoneCoverage.com reports.
- Day-To-DayMatt Canterino SP — Canterino (shoulder) will be with the Twins in big-league spring training but isn't expected to pitch during camp as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
- 10-Day-ILRyan Jeffers C — Jeffers had the cast and stitches removed from his surgically repaired left hand and has resumed throwing, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILMick Abel SP — Abel (elbow) struck out five and permitted two hits and no walks over three scoreless frames in his first rehab start with Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.
- 15-Day-ILKendry Rojas RP — Rojas (elbow) will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILCole Sands RP — The Twins returned Sands (forearm) from his rehab assignment Tuesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILBailey Ober SP — Ober has a mild flexor strain and will be shut down for 10-14 days, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic
Pinnacle's number tells you what to expect — a moneyline pick'em at -102/-108, the total parked at 8.5, and a run line that's still respecting how often these games go either way late. Friday produced 17 runs. Saturday probably won't, but with two starters who don't usually see the 6th and both bullpens already taxed, the path to a low-scoring afternoon is narrow.