Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Matthew Liberatore's DOMINANT Performance | Yadi Returns To The Dugout | Liam Doyle promoted

Episode Date: September 4, 2025

Cardinals stun Athletics with Liberatore's clutch performance.JD breaks down St. Louis Cardinals' impressive victory, highlighting Matthew Liberatore's start and the team's evolving strategy. The discussion covers Yadier Molina's return for Hall of Fame weekend, Jimmy Crooks' potential mentorship, and how recent roster moves are reshaping the MLB landscape. Key topics include the Cardinals' pitching improvements, upcoming challenges, and top prospect Liam Doyle's pro debut.Don't miss this in-depth analysis of the St. Louis Cardinals' path to success. Will Liberatore's development continue? Can the Cardinals capitalize on Molina's return and Doyle's debut?Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-st-louis-cardinals/Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/mlb/Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIOFollow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_CardinalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!5-Hour ENERGYTee up that trip! Enter for a chance to win a dream golf trip for two to any golf tournament* in the USA. Visit 5HEWIN.com for full rules and entry. No purchase necessary. Excludes the Master’s tournament. Ends October 31, 2025.UpsideSimply download the free Upside app in the App Store or Google Play and use the promo code SEASON to get an extra 25 cents back per gallon on your first fill up. Start earning cash at the pump, today!Click Here: https://getupside.onelink.me/zlLr?af_xp=custom&pid=barrington&c=barrington_lockedon25&deep_link_value=promo&deep_link_sub1=lockedon25&af_dp=upsideapp%3A%2F%2FZippixGo to ZippixToothpicks.com and use promo code LOCKEDON for 10% off your first order. Zippix Toothpicks—energy and focus, anytime you need it.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONMLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.PrizePicks — Run Your Game.Click Link Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLBMonarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at monarchmoney.com/lockedonmlb for 50% off your first year.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)#ForTheLou #stlcards #mlb #lockedoncardinals #stlouiscardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The St. Louis Cardinals win. Yadier Molina is coming back this weekend and top pitching prospect. Liam Doyle is promoted. In the words of the great owner, Jackie Moon, I'm so happy. I can't even feel my arm. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.

Hey there, Carlis fans. I'm J.D. Hafford and I'm your host for Locktown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. day. Follow me on exit Jdysports radio podcast available on X at L0 underscore Cardinals. We're on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, a lockdown cardinals. This is a show serving card donation and giving you all the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to five-hour energy and it for a chance to win a dream golf trip or two to any golf tournament in the USA. Visit 5h.e win.com for full rules and entry, no purchase necessary, excludes the master's tournament.

Ends October 31st, 2025. All right. There have not been. whole lot of days where we've gotten as much good news all at once. And when the universe shines the light upon you, you got to enjoy it. You got to soak it in. And that's what the plan is today. The ugly shirt, if you're watching on YouTube, ugly shirt is on. A lot of positive things going on with the team and the organization in the last 24 hours. So let's get into it.

First and foremost, let's talk about what happened on the field. They picked up another win last night, and they take the series over the athletics. And they did it by doing the little things right, you know, strong pitching, solid defense, timely hitting, and a little bit of luck. A little bit of luck involved there, too. Some of the most basic things, though, that baseball teams tried to do each and every day. They were able to accomplish it on Wednesday night, and it delivered them a 5-to-1 victory at Bush Stadium. it all starts with Matthew Libertor.

That's where it all started with, who in his first full season of being a starter and a member of this rotation has certainly seen his fair share of ups and downs. It has it all gone smoothly. But last night, he gave you another glimpse as to why he was a first round pick

by the Tampa Bay race, why the Cardinals tried to acquire him, and why his future remains bright for this organization. It feels like Matthew Libertore, has been pitching for the Cardinals for eight years. It really does. But he's 25. He's 25 years old. That's right around the normal time that it takes pitchers to kind of hit their stride at the major league level. And Libby looked great last night. He looked great. He spends five in a third shutout innings. He allows his foreheads. Strikes out seven in route to his seventh win of the

season. It was his first victory in quite a while, June 29th, to be exact, was the last time where Libby walked off a mound and got a W when the game was over. And it's not that he's pitched all that badly in all those games. He certainly hasn't, but, you know, the record is what it is, man. He was since that win, which was on the 29th against the Guardians, 0 and 5, with a 5.77 ERA and for no decisions. So not great, not great, Bob. But at the same time, a few of those games got out of hand, but a few of the other ones, they weren't that bad.

But this was by far, his best outing since that went against Cleveland. So Derek Gould at the Post Dispatch gave, had some really great insight in his article today on some of the things that Libby has been working on recently to improve what he's done so far this season and to end the year on a good note going into 2026, one being hanging on to his velocity deeper into games. We've seen that where we've had those games where all of a sudden, you know, Libby's Velo just drops off a cliff and they're like, what the hell?

And everybody thinks he's hurt. And he hasn't been, you know, it's just been mechanics. maybe a little bit of fatigue. But getting the velocity back and keeping it, holding on to it deeper into games, that was a goal for him. The other one, getting his slider back to what it needs to look like

to be a slider instead of coming out looking like, you know, getting the cutter type of movement. You know, he wanted to get the bigger break and stuff again. You know, it's a big difference in how a cutter and a slider move. So two pitches that, you know, used properly are very good. good, but you don't want to be throwing a slider that looks like a cutter. That's not what you want. Wednesday night, though, he had everything going good. According to Gould, Libby got seven swings and misses on either his curb or his slider, which you love to see.

29 curves and sliders that he threw 13 were called strikes or swings and misses. None of them were put in play. That's pretty awesome. And I know we look at the A's record and you're like, oh, but the A's Look at this record. The record isn't great, but it doesn't reflect how good their offense has been. And you saw that on display on Monday when they beat the snot out of Sunny Gray. So to mow through these guys, it's not like just some easy task. You know, they've got some sluggers in that lineup. Go look at their OPSs and sluggy percentages.

Like they could smash the ball. And Libby doing what he did on Wednesday night, that was. was awesome. You know, he looked, he looked fresh. He looked in control. He looked confident, which is a big thing. You know, even when he did have some runners on, there was no panic. He was in full control the entire time he was on the mound. It was a very impressive performance. I was thrilled with it. Manager Ali Marmal said this about Libby's start, not only holding the velocity, but the slider was a really good pitch for him. The shape of it was a lot closer to what we wanted. He mixed well, especially against the lineup that threw a decent amount of

right he's against him and he navigated it well. And when asked about the slider after the game, Libby said it finally clicked. He was excited. When I'm getting swings on it like I was tonight, it's a different ballgame. I feel like I keep taking steps in the right direction every time out. I feel like I finally put it together for an entire outing instead of two to three or four innings. And that's been one of the issues for Matthew Libertore here in the second half of the season.

He hasn't been able to pitch very deep in the games. you know, Booney locked on A's. He was texting me. He's like, what do you expect from Libby tonight? And I'm like, four innings, you know, three or four strikeouts. That's normally what he's been doing. But he blew right past all those expectations, seeing him stay as strong as he did, keep the below up and just overall, just, I mean, just his presence on the mound.

You could just tell that he felt good out there. So you can't help but feel good about seeing what you saw for Matthew Livertore. And when you're pitching well and you're feeling good, this sport becomes a whole lot more enjoyable, which Libby acknowledged after the game as well, saying that that was fun. And I love when I can punch some guys out and I feel like I had more to give if I had been able to stay in the game.

So I felt like I left the game in a good spot, which I think he did. You know, Ali pulled him after he got Nick Kurtz out, left-hander. So they got him out, and then the righty was coming up. So they pulled him, 81 pitches. and he probably could have gone a little bit longer, but it all worked out. You know, Leahy came in,

and although we did give up the home run in the eighth inning to Kurtz, he gives you two winnings. You know, you still want to use these guys as well. You're not trying to, I mean, what's the point in throwing Libby for 100 pitches in this game? Not really. Like, you just want him to be like, all right, man, you got the outlet.

Let's sit on a good note. Let's get this thing wrapped up. So, Leahy does his job. Jojo gets the final five outs to pick up his seventh save of the season. He hasn't missed a beat since, since Halsley was traded away, who's having a really rough time in New York if you haven't noticed. But just a great, great game for the pitching staff. Offensively, the Cardinals had just seven hits, six of them from just Wilson Contreras and Nolan Gorman alone. I believe it was Mason Wynn had the only other hit in the game.

Willie was the benefactor of two bad defensive plays by the A's outfielders. First one was that that bloop that he hit in right field in the third inning that Brent Rooker appeared to lose in the lights. I thought he was going to have it. And then it just fell. It was very awkward. So I assume it was a lights problem. That brought in two runs to give the Cardinals a lead. Imagine that playing with a lead for once. Gorman smacked his 14th run of the season in the seventh inning to make it three to one. It was a towering shot that it went all energized or bunny and just kept going and going and going. I mean, that looked like a nine iron. It was so high and then just a wall scraper at the end.

but they all count. Then in the eighth inning after the A's intentionally walk Lars Newfar to get to him, villain Willie stepped up. You can tell he was a little irritated by the fact that they decided to walk the guy in front of him to face him. So he lines went into left field that gets misplayed by Tyler Soderstrom, goes for a two-run triple to give the Cardinals some more breathing room and Willie throws up four. I don't know if he was talking about RBI's or, hey, that's what you get when you, you know, walk the guy in front of me.

But either way, nice to see cocky Willie. out there on the field. Still haven't heard anything about a suspension yet. I haven't seen anything today yet. Still waiting on word there. Nolan Gorman, outside of the home run, also had two singles, snapped his O for 15th Street. Also made some stellar plays over at third base. And, you know, we know he's had struggles since taking over full time for Aronado, but it's been a whole lot better. Apparently he put in a call to Aronado to talk to him a little bit about the defensive things that are going on. and maybe that helped him out a little bit. Naturally, getting more playing time, getting more reps,

that's going to help you as well. You know, Gorman's been playing second base a whole lot more over the last couple seasons. But he's been better at third base. Looks a lot more confident. I can tell you that much. Body language is a big thing for me. And seeing Gorman and seeing Libertory who are also, you know, very close friends, seeing them both doing well at the same time.

You could tell they were kind of feeding off each. other. So that was really cool to see. Just a solid night at the ballpark, man. Series win again against the team who has been as hot as anyone over the last month. Cards get the day off today before the Giants. Another team that is playing really, really well right now comes to Bush Stadium. And it's going to be the Hall of Fame weekend here this weekend in St. Louis. But, you know, the Giants aren't the only ones that are going to be visiting. There's another familiar face that people are quite excited about to see back in town and we'll be back in the dugout this weekend. We'll talk about it next coming up on Locked on Cardinals.

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Excludes the master's tournament ends October 31st, 2025. Thanks for making a lot. on Carlos first listen every day, leave the comments on YouTube as well as on TikTok anytime you want. Your feedback is always welcome and encourage. We're staying with the good vibes here today on a Thursday. We love us some Yanni or Molina in St. Louis, right? Give us as much Yadi as we can handle.

We don't care what he's doing. We don't care where he's at. Just keep him in our lives. We need him. He's our heartbeat, right? And we're going to get our fill this weekend. We're going to get our fill this weekend when number four makes his way back to town for the Hall of Fame ceremonies that are going on this weekend.

And he will also be in the dugout alongside Ali Marmal and the coaches like he was back in the beginning of August when the Cubs were here. It's going to be nice to see number four back in uniform and a part of the team once again. And any time Yaddy is around there, you know, there's just an added energy at the ballpark. There's just a buzz. And it works out nicely that he's going to be around not just, you know, for the fans and for the team and the coaches and just. the staff and everything. But the fact that he's going to be around while catching prospect, Jimmy Crooks is here too.

I feel like that's a little bonus, right? I mean, who better to learn from than the goat himself? And I'm sure Yadde will carve out some time so he and Jimmy can talk and he can pick his brain a little bit. Derek Gould at the post dispatch said that Cardos are planning to activate Joe Alpozo from the injured list on Friday, but they are likely to carry three catchers for the closing week so that Crooks can continue to get familiar with the major

league pitching staff, major league preparation, and basically auditioned for a spot on the major league roster coming up next season. Now, I know we've all enjoyed the Joel Pozo story. Like it's one of those feel good stories. He's been a nice piece to have, especially off the bench pinch hitting, has had incredible at bats and has done some really good things. But if Jimmy Crooks is not on this roster next season, then either, A, unfortunately, he's dealing with an injury, or B, the people in charge have no idea what they're doing. All right. Pedro Pahez, they love him, they're going to keep them around.

I feel like Pedro Pahez is a very solid backup catcher in this league. I do. You know, he's been hitting extremely better recently over like the last month, you know, switch back to his former batting stance. No hitting coach told him to do it, but apparently Thomas and J.C. suggested it. And it's been working for him. But overall, we know Pedro not the greatest hitter. Good defensive catcher.

He sounds like a good backup. But Jimmy Crooks, he just deserves to have a shot at being the guy, in my opinion. 24 years old right now, hit 274, 14 home runs, 790 RBIs at Memphis. We need that production out of the catcher position. It doesn't appear. Yvonne Herrera is going to go back to catching anytime soon. And if he does, I don't know what the hell they're going to do. I don't know what they're going to do.

Are they going to trade Jimmy Crooks? They're going to trade Pahas? Like, what are they going to do? Like, unless Yvonne Herrera becomes amazing behind the plate again at some point, I don't know why he's playing that position anymore. Figure something else out, and I'm sure they're working on it. I'm sure they got a plan for it next year. Because the Cardinals also have two other, like huge catching prospects

that they're very much high on in Leonardo Bernal and right now Rodriguez, who are both rated higher than Crooks when it comes to the MLB Pipeline ratings. Bernal is rated as the eighth best catching prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. And they're both very, very young. You know, Bernal's 21, Rodriguez, I believe, is just, I think he's only, is he 18, 19? One of the two. He's still a teenager, I can tell you that much. And so they're not ready yet, you know, but it may not take them that long.

to be ready, you know, the way things are going, these are the day and age, you know, you want to get these guys up and ready to rock. Yeah, 18 for Rodriguez right now and Bernal at 21. So, but they're coming. They're coming. And they can either be used as, you know, pieces for trades to go get some more starting pitching, which we know the Cardinals are desperately in need of.

Or use other guys as trade bait. but you got a bevy of catchers here. Everybody's looking for good catchers. So we'll see what they end up doing about all of that. But having Yadi around while Crooks is in town, who is a guy that I could see, you know, taking over the starting job next year is a good thing for sure. And Hall of Fame weekend is always a good time, obviously,

to have the younger players around. You know, you've got so much youth on this team with Crooks and Libby and Walker and Winn and Gorman and Victor Scott and Thomas A Jacey and Nathan Church. you know, I'm sure I'm forgetting some people, but so, McGreevy, obviously, he's another young guy, you know, but I think it's important that these young guys are around and seeing the people who came before them, smiling and reminiscing about accomplishments from the past

and, you know, talking about the rich tradition that this franchise has. Because it's been, for the most part, really, really good to be a part of this Cardinals organization. I know things have been tougher recently, but, you know, there's all these great guys are going to be in town. Over a dozen Cardinals Hall of Fame are scheduled to be a part of the ceremonies inducting Edgar Renteria, Al-Rabowski, and the late Walt Jockety into the Cardinals Hall of Fame. Ozzie's going to be here.

Tony LaRusa, Hall of Famer Ted Simmons, Scott Rowland Hall of Famer, Joe Torrey, Mark McGuire, who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I know people mad, steroids, whatever. The dude was a major part of the history of baseball. and I feel like he should be in. Jimmy Edmonds, who is still an underrated, I feel like his deserving of release of votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame with how good he was defensively

and some of the power numbers he put up for the Cardinals. But Chris Carpenter, Ray Langford, John Tudor, Tom Hur, Jose Ocendo, Matt Morris. They're all scheduled to be here. They're also going to be celebrating this 1985 team that, you know, got upset by the Royals. We know about the call. I know we don't have to go into that, but, you know,

Willie McGee, Vince Coleman, Terry Pendleton's going to be back. Danny Cox, Ricky Horton, Andy Van Slegg, Todd Worrell. I mean, listen to some of these names, like some of the best to ever do it in a Cardinal uniform. And these young guys are going to get a chance to be around these legends of St. Louis Cardinals baseball. And I think that's a great thing, you know. You get to hear their stories and mingle with these guys, learn from their knowledge,

and learn what it was like when things were going really, really well. Because, you know, these young guys are around right now where it's just 500 or less baseball. And that's not always the greatest atmosphere, you know, let them know that things can be great. And they're a part of trying to make this thing great again. And hopefully it just makes them better players and better people moving forward. More good news. It just keeps flowing, right, guys? More good news.

Top graphic, Liam Doyle is set to begin his Major League Baseball. journey. We'll talk about it coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Nothing like catching a baseball game live, the energy, the crowd, the chance to see your team in person. Hey, Hall of Fame weekend. Get to see a lot of the Cardinal Legends this weekend, but sometimes getting tickets, that's the problem. You know, you got to deal with cues and logins and surprise fees, which always upsets me. It takes all the fun out of buying your tickets. And that's why I use game time for all my sports, not just baseball. football, basketball, college sports, hockey, blues are going to be starting up here this month.

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So catch football, the college football kickoff every Thursday throughout the season, only available on fire TV. Now, we've been waiting for some good news. At least I have been waiting on good news about top pick Liam Doyle. It's been kind of radio silent of what's been going on with Liam Doyle, whom the Cardinals took with the number five overall draft picked in this year's MLB draft. Finally, finally, we got some news and it is some good news because Liam Doyle is

is set to make his pro debut on Saturday at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. Just before the ending of the minor league regular season, the Cardinals have transferred him to their low-A Palm Beach roster and announced that he's going to be pitching in the game on Saturday against Dayton. Now, Derek Gould from the Post-Dispatch pointed out that this is the final weekend of the regular season, so it's not like Doyle is going to be pitching multiple games or anything like that for Palm Beach. They're going to give them an opportunity to get into a competitive game before an off-season. and will be spent building toward his first full professional season

that he's going to aim to throw two innings. Two eddings is what they're shooting for in this game on Saturday. That was Peric Cardinals official. So I like to hear that. Now, some might wonder, wait, two eddings, two eddings. What's wrong with him? Well, according to Gould, there's nothing wrong with him. He's just been throwing bullpen sessions and other outings over the past month

to manage his workload and not heap. additional innings under his shoulder after the college season. You know, there's no need to push this kid. Like, what's the rush? You know, it's different for hitters because you're already seeing, you know, some of the hitters who got drafted and, you know, they're doing things at other levels already. But it's different, you know, they can get right back into the fray.

But with pitchers, it's probably best to be a little more cautious, you know. He threw a lot of innings this year at Tennessee. So there's no need to bury him with more innings, you know. they've been working with them. Everything's fine. Next year is when we ramp things up, you know. Get them ready by, you know, first having them out at the winter warmup. You know, we do whatever offseason stuff they've got planned for them,

but get him into St. Louis for the winter warm up. Let the fans meet him, get to know him, talk to him, take pictures with him. Let him get a vibe of what Cardinals fans are like. Let him get a feel for things as a St. Louis Cardone. Hopefully, he works his way up through the minors pretty quickly. You know, he's 21 years old. So being of the level that he is, and I don't know what the plan is,

whether it's making him a starter. Is he going to be a reliever? Starter is probably the plan to start things here, you know, and then if something changes. But, you know, he's a mature man, you know. You know, when I was talking about Matthew Libertory earlier, and I'm like, well, take some time. Remember, he was a high school guy that got drafted.

So it took some time to get a math. acclimated. Liam Doyle's already been pitching in the SEC. Like he's, he's ready. He's ready. So hopefully he's able to work his way up through the miners fairly quickly and we'll be ready to join the likes of this next wave of talent that's set to come through when JJ Weatherholt and Quinn Matthews. So, because those two are most certainly going to be competing for spots on the roster next year. I can, I can promise you that. As far as anything else moving forward, That's really all we got right now, you know, enjoy the day off. You know, you don't have to worry about watching a game tonight.

Get to watch the NFL begin their season tonight. I hope a lot of you can make it to the ceremonies this weekend. Be nice to see a somewhat packed house. I'm not expecting it to be sold out by any means over the weekend, but to see a lot more Cardinal fans than we've seen, a lot better than the 17,000 that we've seen. Be nice to see in the 30s this weekend as they honor the great Cardinals players that we've enjoyed before the dark.

soccer times, as we call them now, that we're in at the moment. And, you know, personally, I think it's been fun watching the younger players have an impact on the roster and in games. You know, part of me wishes that it was more like this, the whole season where, you know, these guys would have had all these games under their belt and be hitting even that next level of progression. But it didn't happen that way. But seeing Libby and McGreevy throwing very, very well as members of this rotation,

Gorman coming around at third base defensively. gaining confidence, listening to him talk about his swing. You know, it seems like he's got a much better feel about what's going on with them. He's like, I got a lot of work to do. But, you know, there are some things that I feel like I'm starting to really figure out. And, you know, he snapped his 015 streak with the three for three night on Wednesday, you know, watching Nathan Church out there. I know he's not some special prospect or anything like that.

But watching him just go out there and hustle and laying down buns and playing well defensively, I like seeing that stuff, you know, Jimmy, Jimmy Crooks catching a really nice game from Michael's on Tuesday. Yvonne Herrera, blasting home runs, bolpen arms like Leahy and Sphonson and Romero, continuing to do good things. It's not all doom and gloom right now for the St. Louis Cardinals, and I know it's not where we want them to be,

but laying the foundation for the future is where we are. And that's what this month of September is all about. So far, off to a good start, winning two of three over the A's. Thanks for making a locks on Cardinals, first listen every day. If you haven't already, please give us a follow on X at L.O. underscore Cardinals and the JD Sports Radio, TikTok, and Instagram at Lockdown Cardinals. Like, subscribe on YouTube as we continue to push for 13,000 subscribers. If you're not one of them yet, what are you doing? What are you doing? Come on board.

It's a good time. You're the best fans in baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time on Locked on Cardinals.