Player	Pos	Bats
Benintendi	DH	L
Montgomery	RF	S
Doyle	CF	R
Meidroth	2B	R
Montgomery	SS	L
Quero	C	S
Rogers	C	R
Teel	C	L
Acuña	SS	R
Vargas	3B	R
Murakami	1B	L
Grichuk	DH	R
Antonacci	LF	L
Peters	CF	L

Handedness: 6 RHB (Doyle, Meidroth, Rogers, Acuña, Vargas, Grichuk), 6 LHB (Benintendi, Montgomery, Teel, Murakami, Antonacci, Peters), 2 SHB (Montgomery, Quero).

INJURIES & ROSTER NOTES

Cardinals

Blaze Jordan -- 2026-08-28: St. Louis Cardinals placed 3B Blaze Jordan on the 10-day injured list. Left ankle sprain.

JJ Wetherholt -- 2026-08-30: St. Louis Cardinals placed 2B JJ Wetherholt on the 10-day injured list. Right wrist tendinitis.

Andre Pallante -- 2026-09-04: St. Louis Cardinals activated RHP Andre Pallante from the 15-day injured list.

Masyn Winn -- 2026-09-08: St. Louis Cardinals activated SS Masyn Winn from the 10-day injured list.

White Sox

Davis Martin -- 2026-09-02: Chicago White Sox activated RHP Davis Martin from the 15-day injured list.

Kyle Teel -- 2026-09-04: Chicago White Sox activated C Kyle Teel from the 10-day injured list.

Tommy Pham -- 2026-09-03: Chicago White Sox placed LF Tommy Pham on the 10-day injured list retroactive to September 3, 2026. Left calif strain.

Chris Murphy -- 2026-09-07: Chicago White Sox activated LHP Chris Murphy from the 15-day injured list.

On the Cardinals side, Blaze Jordan (left ankle sprain) and JJ Wetherholt (right wrist tendinitis) remain on the injured list, leaving the infield short at third base and second base. Masyn Winn's return to the active roster on September 8 restores a key piece at shortstop. Andre Pallante's activation on September 4 adds a pitcher back to the rotation.

Chicago enters with two recent additions of their own: Kyle Teel returned at catcher on September 4, and Chris Murphy rejoined the rotation on September 7. Tommy Pham's placement on the injured list retroactive to September 3 removes an outfielder from the White Sox lineup, and Davis Martin's activation on September 2 keeps their rotation fuller heading into tonight's game.

2A: BVP -- CARDINALS BATTERS VS OPPONENT STARTER

Small sample: Jordan Walker (2 PA), Ramón Urías (2 PA), Alec Burleson (2 PA), Nolan Gorman (1 PA).

Career BvP history against Anthony Kay is almost entirely absent for this Cardinals roster -- only four batters carry any record at all, and every sample is one or two plate appearances, flagged as noise throughout the table. Jordan Walker is 0-for-2 with no walks. Ramón Urías is 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. Alec Burleson is 1-for-2 (.500/.500/1.000). Nolan Gorman is 0-for-1 with a strikeout. No batter meets both danger thresholds (10 PA and .400 AVG) -- Burleson's .500 average comes from a single hit in two at-bats, a sample too small to carry weight.

No significant bench BvP history. With career BvP offering no real read, the lineup's matchup angles rest on season-long splits -- Kay is stronger against left-handed batters this season (.511 OPS allowed) compared with right-handed batters (.868 OPS allowed), a gap that shapes how the Cardinals' five left-handed hitters and eight right-handed hitters figure into tonight's at-bats.

2B: BVP -- OPPONENT BATTERS VS CARDINALS STARTER

Small sample: Brenton Doyle (5 PA), Miguel Vargas (4 PA), Randal Grichuk (3 PA), Edgar Quero (3 PA), Chase Meidroth (3 PA), Luisangel Acuña (3 PA).

Six Chicago White Sox batters carry career BvP history against Matthew Liberatore, all in samples of five plate appearances or fewer. Every figure in the table is too small to treat as predictive, but the texture is mixed: Edgar Quero went 2-for-3 (.667/.667/.667) in three plate appearances, and Randal Grichuk hit a home run in three trips (.333/.333/1.333). Brenton Doyle also homered in five plate appearances (.250/.400/1.000). On the other side, Chase Meidroth is 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- CARDINALS

2026 companion columns: sample floor is 60 PA vs LHP (below floor renders SSS in the table above). Above that floor the 2026 vs-hand figure leads the read, with 2025 as the historical anchor; below it, 2025 leads.

Anthony Kay is a left-hander who has allowed a .511 OPS against left-handed batters and a .868 OPS against right-handed batters in 2026, so the eight right-handed bats in the Cardinals roster carry the platoon advantage tonight, while the five left-handed hitters face his sharply stronger side.

Among the right-handed hitters, Jordan Walker's 2026 vs-LHP line stands out: .294 average and .915 OPS across 162 plate appearances. Iván Herrera has posted a .787 OPS against left-handers across 203 plate appearances in 2026. José Fermín's 2026 vs-LHP figure reads .769 OPS across 149 plate appearances, and Masyn Winn sits at .764 OPS across 129 plate appearances against left-handers this season.

Pedro Pagés carries a .490 OPS against left-handers across 89 plate appearances in 2026 -- Kay's stronger split compounds a difficult matchup for the catcher. Ramón Urías's 2026 vs-LHP sample of 39 plate appearances is too small to report split rates reliably; last season he hit .262/.322/.421 across 118 plate appearances against left-handers. Thomas Saggese's 2026 vs-LHP sample of 41 plate appearances is likewise too small; last season he hit .273/.279/.348 across 68 plate appearances against left-handers.

On the left-handed side, Alec Burleson's 2026 vs-LHP line reads .209 average and .537 OPS across 189 plate appearances -- his weaker platoon side, and the matchup favors Kay. Nathan Church's 2026 vs-LHP OPS is .568 across 91 plate appearances. Victor Scott's 2026 vs-LHP sample is too small to report; last season he hit .204/.290/.241 across 131 plate appearances against left-handers. Nolan Gorman's 2026 vs-LHP sample of 44 plate appearances is too small to report; last season he hit .220/.301/.439 across 93 plate appearances against left-handers. Leo Bernal, a switch-hitter, has too small a sample against either hand to compare in 2026.

2C: PLATOON SPLITS -- OPPONENT

2026 companion columns: sample floor is 60 PA vs LHP (below floor renders SSS in the table above). Above that floor the 2026 vs-hand figure leads the read, with 2025 as the historical anchor; below it, 2025 leads.

Matthew Liberatore is a left-hander, so the lineup's six right-handed bats face his stronger side: he has allowed a .802 OPS against right-handed batters this season, compared with .843 OPS allowed against left-handed batters. Randal Grichuk leads that right-handed group in 2026 contact vs. left-handed pitching, posting a .982 OPS across 151 PA, his stronger side (.982 vs. LHP compared with .664 vs. RHP). Chase Meidroth (.912 OPS, 160 PA) and Miguel Vargas (.963 OPS, 184 PA) both clear that floor as well, each also stronger against left-handed pitching this season.

Among left-handed bats, Colson Montgomery's 2026 sample vs. left-handed pitching clears the floor at 175 PA: he is stronger against left-handed pitching this season (.826 OPS vs. LHP compared with .675 OPS vs. RHP), meaning he does not carry the typical same-hand disadvantage. Andrew Benintendi's 2026 sample vs. left-handed pitching sits at 47 PA -- too small to compare reliably with his right-handed split; last season he hit .276/.286/.563 across 92 PA against left-handers. Munetaka Murakami, batting left, has a .699 OPS across 145 PA against left-handed pitching this season, against .871 vs. right-handers.

The two switch-hitters bat from the right side against Liberatore. Edgar Quero's 2026 vs.-LHP sample is 88 PA (.519 OPS), above the floor; his 2025 vs.-LHP line was .357/.394/.457 across 137 PA. Braden Montgomery has a .496 OPS across 86 PA against left-handed pitching this season, against .734 vs. right-handers, so as a switch-hitter batting right tonight he is on his disadvantaged side against a left-hander. Brenton Doyle (CF, right-handed) is stronger against left-handed pitching this season (.633 OPS vs. LHP compared with .509 OPS vs. RHP), posting a 2026 vs.-LHP line of .214 across 77 PA.

Kyle Teel (19 PA vs. LHP in 2026) and Jake Rogers (39 PA) both fall below the floor; last season Teel was .186/.314/.233 across 52 PA against left-handers and Rogers .148/.306/.333 across 36 PA. Tristan Peters has 56 PA vs. left-handed pitching in 2026 -- just below the floor -- and a 2025 line of .000/.000/.000 across 2 PA against left-handers, too small to carry weight. Luisangel Acuña's 2026 vs.-LHP line reads .234 AVG and .513 OPS across 97 PA; he is stronger against right-handed pitching this season (.567 OPS vs. RHP compared with .513 OPS vs. LHP).

2D: PITCHER PLATOON SPLITS

Matthew Liberatore faces a White Sox roster that splits evenly between left-handed and right-handed bats, with six of each and two switch hitters. That balance matters because Liberatore carries a meaningful platoon gap: 2026 vs. right-handed batters, hitters have posted a .802 OPS across 454 batters faced; vs. left-handed batters, that figure rises to .843 across 154 batters faced. The 2025 baseline ran in the same direction -- .730 vs. right-handed batters across 515 plate appearances, compared with .758 vs. left-handed batters across 133 -- so the right-handed side has been his stronger split in each of the last two seasons. Against a lineup where half the bats favor his stronger side and the other half sit on his weaker side, the handedness mix offers no clear group-level tilt either way tonight.

2D-HA: PITCHER HOME/AWAY SPLITS

Matthew Liberatore takes the mound at home tonight, where his 2026 ERA is 5.87 -- 164th of 185 NL pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched at home. On the road this season he carries a 5.27 ERA, ranking 142nd of 178 NL pitchers with at least 20 innings on the road. His 2025 baseline shows the same direction reversed: a 3.69 ERA at home against 4.03 away. This season he is stronger on the road, with a .753 OPS allowed in away starts compared with .868 at home.

2E: TTO SPLITS (TIMES THROUGH ORDER)

Matthew Liberatore has pitched into a third pass in 25 of 28 starts. In the 25 starts he pitched into a third pass, hitters posted a .681 OPS on the second pass -- 225 PA. From the third pass on in those same starts: 1.129 OPS -- 109 PA. Pooled within-game delta, third pass and beyond minus second pass, survival starts only: +.448 OPS. Early hooks: 3 starts, 22 PA. Per-pass rate stats resting on fewer than 50 PA render as their PA count, never as a decimal; 2026 companion columns carry their own 60 BF floor (below floor renders SSS).

Matthew Liberatore has pitched into a third pass in 25 of 28 starts. His 2026 first-pass line of .721 OPS (252 batters faced) and second-pass line of .775 OPS (247 batters faced) run close together -- the gap opens sharply in the third pass. In the 25 starts he was available for a third time through, hitters posted a .681 OPS against him on the second pass (225 PA); from the third pass on in those same starts, that figure jumps to 1.129 OPS (109 PA), a within-game swing of +.448 OPS. The 2025 season shows a different pattern: hitters posted a .657 OPS on the first pass (264 PA), escalated to .871 on the second (252 PA), then fell back to .641 on the third (132 PA) -- though the 2025 third-pass sample carries only 132 PA and the 2026 conditional read is the more telling figure tonight. The second-to-third-pass deterioration this season is large and consistent: the confidence interval on that +.448 swing runs from +.237 to +.659 across 28 starts, well clear of zero.

2F: INHERITED RUNNERS PROFILE

2025's league average strand rate was 68.8%. Kyle Leahy leads this group in volume -- 29 inherited runners across the season -- stranding 62.1% of them, below that baseline. Gordon Graceffo's 54.5% strand rate on 11 inherited runners is the group's lowest mark. Riley O'Brien sits closest to the league figure at 70.0% across 10 inherited runners. Michael McGreevy has stranded all 3 of his inherited runners this season, though his sample is the smallest of the four.

2G: BATTED BALL MATCHUP

Pitcher Batted Ball Profiles (2025)

Sample floor is 50 balls in play (PROVISIONAL): below floor renders "--" in the table above -- cite the raw BIP/AB count instead of the rate.

Hitter Batted Ball Results (2025) -- CWS

Sample floor is 50 balls in play (PROVISIONAL): below floor renders "--" in the table above -- cite the raw BIP/AB count instead of the rate.

Matthew Liberatore's 2025 contact profile sits at 39.1% ground balls, 31.3% fly balls, and 27.6% line drives across 463 balls in play -- a ground-ball rate below that season's 47.0% league average, which tilts his contact shape toward the air. That matters here because the Chicago White Sox lineup is built to hurt pitchers on line drives and struggles on fly balls. Andrew Benintendi (.616 LD AVG, .076 FB AVG), Chase Meidroth (.560 LD AVG, .058 FB AVG), and Kyle Teel (.692 LD AVG, .157 FB AVG) all post sharply higher averages on line drives than on fly balls, as do Brenton Doyle (.575 LD AVG, .131 FB AVG), Edgar Quero (.632 LD AVG, .090 FB AVG), and Miguel Vargas (.574 LD AVG, .101 FB AVG). Liberatore's fly-ball lean works in his favor against this group -- the lineup converts fly balls at a low clip across the board -- but any contact that stays flat and off the bat hard will find the gaps. Luisangel Acuña hits grounders at .270 with too few fly and line drives on file to rate. Randal Grichuk, Colson Montgomery, Tristan Peters, and Jake Rogers each have at least one batted-ball type below the 50-ball-in-play floor; for Grichuk that is line drives (48 AB), for Montgomery line drives (36 AB), and for Peters and Rogers all three types are too small a sample to rate.

2H: BATTERY PAIRING

Two catchers in tonight's battery table -- Yohel Pozo and Jimmy Crooks -- are not on the Cardinals' active roster; their 2025 lines with Matthew Liberatore are historical context only. Pedro Pagés, on the active roster at catcher, carries 15 games and 75.2 innings of 2025 history with Liberatore, posting a 3.93 ERA and .279 average against over that stretch. Leo Bernal, also on the active roster at catcher, has no innings on file with Liberatore -- a fresh battery pairing if he draws the start. Bernal is the projected starter tonight, and that start would mark the two working together for the first time on record.

2I: BASERUNNING MATCHUP

White Sox baserunning leaders (2026): Miguel Vargas leads the active roster with 17 steals against 2 caught stealing (89.5% success rate). Luisangel Acuña has 16 steals and 6 caught stealing (72.7%). Brenton Doyle has 12 steals and 3 caught stealing (80.0%). Tristan Peters has 8 steals and 2 caught stealing (80.0%). Chase Meidroth has 3 steals and 2 caught stealing this year -- 5 attempts fall below the floor for a published rate. Andrew Benintendi (1 steal, 0 caught), Colson Montgomery (1 steal, 1 caught), Edgar Quero (1 steal, 0 caught), and Jake Rogers (1 steal, 0 caught) each carry fewer than 10 attempts -- too small a sample for a rate.

Cardinals catching: Pedro Pagés has thrown out 17 of 55 baserunners in 2026 (30.9% CS rate). Leo Bernal, tonight's likely starter behind the plate, allowed 8 steals and caught 1 in 9 attempts -- that sample is too small for a published rate. Pagés offers the Cardinals' only publishable arm figure on the roster.

White Sox catching: Jake Rogers has caught 11 of 44 baserunners (25.0% CS rate) across 53 games. Edgar Quero has caught 11 of 42 (26.2%) in 55 games. Kyle Teel has caught 7 of 26 (26.9%) in 24 games. All three carry publishable rates; the Cardinals' speed threats face a catching group holding rates in the mid-to-upper 20s across the board.

2J: DEFENSIVE CONTEXT

Masyn Winn leads the Cardinals infielders in the 2025 fielding sample with a .994 fielding percentage across 129 games at shortstop, turning 64 double plays against 3 errors. Pedro Pagés matches that .994 mark behind the plate in 110 games, with 5 errors on the season. Leo Bernal, tonight's projected starter behind the plate, has no 2025 fielding record on file, so no defensive figures apply to his start.

At third base, Ramón Urías holds a .979 fielding percentage in 78 games at the position in 2025, while Nolan Gorman posted a .950 mark in 54 games there. The lineup card has Gorman at third base tonight. Jordan Walker's 2025 right-field sample covers 108 games at a .981 clip; he starts in right tonight. Nathan Church takes center field tonight; his 2025 center-field sample spans 18 games with a 1.000 fielding percentage and no errors. Alec Burleson, who starts at first base tonight, logged 50 games at first base in 2025 with a .990 fielding percentage and 27 double plays. Bryan Torres starts in left field tonight but has no 2025 fielding record on file; no defensive figures apply to his slot. Thomas Saggese's 2025 sample at second base covers 35 games at a .973 percentage with 24 double plays; he is listed at left field on the lineup card tonight, where his 2025 left-field sample is not on file.

2K: BALLPARK CONTEXT & HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Cardinals and Chicago White Sox have met six times across the 2022-2025 stretch, with St. Louis going 3-0 in 2025, 2-1 in 2023, and 1-2 in 2024. Tonight opens a three-game set at Busch Stadium, the first meeting between the clubs this season.

2L: BATTER K%/BB% PROFILE

Cardinals

Against Anthony Kay (LHP) tonight, the Cardinals send eight right-handed bats -- the side Kay holds to a .511 OPS allowed this season, compared with .868 OPS allowed against left-handed batters. The five left-handed hitters in the roster -- Alec Burleson, Bryan Torres, Nathan Church, Nolan Gorman, and Victor Scott II -- land on his stronger side against lefties.

Within the Cardinals' group, two strikeout profiles stand out. Nolan Gorman's 2025 K% was 33.8% across 402 PA; 2026 to date: 32.2% across 276 PA. Jordan Walker's 2025 K% was 31.8% across 396 PA; 2026 to date: 25.2% across 611 PA. Both figures run well above the league average of 22.1%. Pedro Pagés and Thomas Saggese carry the lowest walk rates in the group: Pagés posted a 2025 BB% of 4.9% across 389 PA (2026: 5.6% across 198 PA); Saggese posted 5.4% across 295 PA (2026: 8.8% across 125 PA). Kay's own 2026 walk rate of 7.9% sits below the league average of 8.9%, so he is unlikely to gift free passes to the contact-challenged hitters at the top of this profile.

White Sox

Matthew Liberatore (LHP) is stronger against right-handed batters this season: .802 OPS allowed, compared with .843 OPS allowed against left-handed batters. The White Sox send six left-handed hitters -- Andrew Benintendi, Braden Montgomery (switch), Kyle Teel, Munetaka Murakami, Sam Antonacci, and Tristan Peters -- onto his weaker side against lefties. Six right-handed bats and two switch-hitters round out the lineup.

The White Sox carry two high-strikeout profiles worth noting against a left-hander. Colson Montgomery's 2025 K% was 29.3% across 283 PA; 2026 to date: 34.7% across 582 PA -- both above the 22.1% league average. Brenton Doyle's 2025 K% was 25.7% across 538 PA; 2026 to date: 32.6% across 184 PA. On the other side, Chase Meidroth's 2025 BB% of 8.9% across 505 PA matched the 8.9% league average; his 2026 BB% of 9.6% across 586 PA runs modestly above it. Randal Grichuk and Luisangel Acuña both post 2026 BB% figures of 3.9% across 230 PA and 207 PA respectively -- the thinnest walk rates in the White Sox group facing Liberatore tonight.

2M: BATTER BATTED BALL PROFILE

Cardinals

Anthony Kay's 2026 ground-ball rate of 51.0% sits above the league average of 48.8%, so the Cardinals' contact shape matters tonight. Iván Herrera (52.6% GB, 285 BIP) and Jordan Walker (48.9% GB, 231 BIP) are the lineup's heaviest ground-ball tendencies -- both profile into Kay's strength. Nolan Gorman is the outlier in the other direction: his 30.2% GB and 41.7% FB across 199 BIP make him the lineup's most pronounced fly-ball bat, and he is stronger against right-handed pitching this season (.944 OPS) than against the left-hander Kay (.537 OPS). José Fermín (46 BIP) and Nathan Church (37 BIP) have not cleared the floor for published rates.

White Sox

Sample floor is 50 balls in play (PROVISIONAL): below floor renders "--" in the table above -- cite the raw BIP/AB count instead of the rate.

Matthew Liberatore's 2025 ground-ball rate of 39.1% sits below the league average of 47.0%, and his 31.3% fly-ball rate reflects a profile that keeps the ball in the air more than most starters. That shapes how tonight's White Sox contact plays. Miguel Vargas (30.4% GB, 43.6% FB across 388 BIP) and Andrew Benintendi (35.8% GB, 41.2% FB across 318 BIP) are the lineup's most pronounced fly-ball tendencies -- both align with Liberatore's fly-ball-permissive profile. Chase Meidroth (54.2% GB, 371 BIP) and Luisangel Acuña (55.2% GB, 134 BIP) sit at the other end, generating ground balls at a rate the Cardinals' starter surrenders less often. Liberatore is stronger against right-handed batters this season (.802 OPS allowed, compared with .843 OPS allowed against left-handed batters); the White Sox lineup carries six left-handed hitters. Tristan Peters (5 BIP) has not cleared the floor for published rates.

2N: PITCHER K%/BB% PROFILE

The table shows Matthew Liberatore's 2025 K%/BB% profile: 18.8% strikeout rate, 6.2% walk rate, and a 3.05 K/BB ratio across 648 batters faced. His 2026 strikeout rate (23.7%) is above the league average of 22.1%, while his 2026 walk rate (8.1%) sits just below the league average of 8.9%. Anthony Kay's 2026 season totals show 116 strikeouts and 50 walks across 141.0 innings, a 18.3% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate.

KEY MATCHUPS

Kay vs Cardinals RHBs. Right-handed hitters have reached a .868 OPS against Anthony Kay this season across 465 batters faced, against a .699 league average for NL pitchers facing right-handers, and the Cardinals send eight right-handed bats into that split tonight.

Liberatore Home Disadvantage. Matthew Liberatore is stronger on the road this season: .753 OPS allowed away compared with .868 OPS allowed at home. Tonight at Busch Stadium, he works from his weaker side, where his 2026 home ERA stands at 5.87 (164th of 185 NL pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched at home) against 5.27 on the road (142nd of 178).

BvP: CWS hitters vs Liberatore. Three Chicago hitters carry career plate appearances against Matthew Liberatore. Brenton Doyle has a home run across 5 career PA -- a sample too small to report rates reliably, but the only head-to-head signal on file. Randal Grichuk also has a home run in 3 career PA. Edgar Quero is 2-for-3 (.667 avg) in 3 career PA. Grichuk is the sharpest threat in that trio this season: his 2026 line vs left-handed pitching reads .982 OPS across 151 PA, up from .703 last season across 183 PA.

WATCHLIST

-- Matthew Liberatore. If Liberatore reaches the third pass through the Chicago White Sox order, watch whether Oliver Marmol pulls him. Liberatore has pitched into a third pass in 25 of 28 starts this season, and his 2026 third-pass OPS-against stands at 1.129 -- his worst pass by a wide margin versus .721 on the first. The conditional figures (drawn from those 25 starts he was left in for a third time) confirm the gap is genuine signal, not survivor noise: hitters posted a .681 OPS against him in the second pass of those same starts, then jumped to 1.129 in the third. The hook call is tonight's central lever.

-- Miguel Vargas. If Vargas reaches base, watch him run. His 2026 stolen-base success sits at 89.5% (17 for 19), and Pedro Pages has thrown out 30.9% of attempted base stealers this season -- a deterrent, but Vargas's efficiency makes him a threat regardless. Vargas is also stronger against left-handed pitching this season (.963 OPS vs. .784 against right-handers), so his at-bats against Liberatore carry added weight beyond the basepaths.

QUICK REFERENCE -- IN-GAME QUERIES

1. How has Nolan Gorman performed against Anthony Kay in their career?

2. How has Masyn Winn performed against Matthew Liberatore in their career?

3. How has Andrew Benintendi performed against Matthew Liberatore in their career?

4. What are Matthew Liberatore's third-time-through-the-order splits in 2025?

5. What are Jordan Walker's splits against left-handed and right-handed pitchers in 2025?

6. What is Kyle Leahy's inherited-runner strand rate in 2025?

7. What is the park factor at Busch Stadium in 2025?