The St. Louis Cardinals dropped another tough game to LA Angels in the second straight extra inning game in front of another small crowd at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night. Facing arch nemesis Kyle Hendricks, the Cardinals sent lefty Matthew Liberatore to the mound in a game that started more than three hours before it started.

Liberatore won the job with a dominant spring, even though the team unofficially announced he would again be in the bullpen, continuing the trend of the back and forth between roles for the lefty. Personally, I thought the rumored six-man rotation would have been a strong move if that meant that veteran Steven Matz and rookie Michael McGreevy would start and Libby in the pen but I’m cheering for Liberatore either way.

While the Cardinals again struggled to figure out Hendricks, Liberatore did what he could to keep the game close. In innings one, two, four, five, and six, Libby did not give up a run on two hits and notched four strikeouts. The problem was the third inning where he gave up four hits and three runs after being staked a 1-0 lead going into the frame. Beyond that problematic inning, Liberatore did exactly what a fifth starter needs to do: keep the team in the game and give the offense a chance to win. He was extremely efficient, throwing 77 pitches during his quality start and left with the Cardinals trailing 3-2.

Nolan Arenado’s infield grounder was hit slow enough the second baseman rushed to make the play and threw the ball away, scoring the tying run in the eighth. The game then took some crazy turns with the Angels pushing across three gut-wrenching runs that threatened to drop the Cardinals on a two-game losing streak. The “youngry” squad was unfazed and answered back with three of their own, tying the game on a single from Arenado. It looked like Chris Roycroft, who pitched in both games, was going to give the Cardinals a chance to walk it off in the 11th but the Angels scored three more runs with two outs. Down 9-6, the Cardinals needed another huge rally and Victor Scott II did his part with an RBI single. The heroics would end there, however, with Masyn Winn, Lars Nootbaar, and Willson Contreras failing to keep the rally going.

Liberatore’s move from the bullpen to the rotation was felt well after he departed the game. Liberatore was stretched out all throughout the spring and was expected to fill a bulk role after the team’s announcement. Now, Matz jumped into that role and was unavailable after his four inning save a couple days prior. Without a long man available for the second straight extra inning affair, the bullpen took a big hit. Helsley pitched in back-to-back games, so he will most likely be unavailable in game three. With Sonny Gray on the mound, the team hopes that Matz is available if Sonny’s start goes awry.

All in all, it was an encouraging first start for the Cardinals’ lone lefty in the rotation and he will look to build off of his positive outing in his next start. Liberatore’s next start is projected to come early next week when the Cardinals face their first National League opponent of the year in division foe Pittsburgh Pirates.