Cardinals Prominent Hurler Expected To Be Out For Season After Lat Strain

St. Louis is littered with injuries to the big-league roster

Scott Neville | Sep 6, 2023

Cardinals Prominent Hurler Expected To Be Out For Season After Lat Strain /

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are limping through the final month of the season as injuries continue to mount.

One of the few bright spots of the post-trade deadline Cardinals was the improved play of a starting pitcher who appeared to finally be living up to his contract and pedigree -- until he went down.

Steven Matz has been on the injured list for weeks and it's likely that his season is over.

"Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol acknowledged for the first time on Sept. 3 that Matz is unlikely to pitch for the club again this season," MLB.com's John Denton wrote. "Matz still hasn’t begun throwing since he went on the injured list on Aug. 14, retroactive to Aug. 13, due to a strained muscle near his left shoulder."

Matz had been lights out prior to his injury, proving that he could be part of the solution amid next year's rotation reconstruction.

Since rejoining the rotation on July 9, Matz has gone 4-0 with a 1.86 ERA, 38-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .190 batting average against in 38 2/3 innings across seven starts.

The southpaw has a 3.86 ERA, 98-to-32 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .263 batting average against and 1.33 WHIP in 105 innings this season -- good for a 112 ERA+ after a cold start.

While fans surely would love to see him again this season, it's wise not to push his rehab when the team is playing for nothing. Hopefully, he can come back stronger in 2024.

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Published Sep 6, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu