St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Steven Matz has gone down with an unfortunate injury, right as he was hitting his stride in the second half of the season.

The 32-year-old lefty was placed on the 15-day IL with a left lat strain, an injury that he suffered in his Saturday start, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic.

The injury comes at a terrible time for Matz, who has been cooking with a 1.24 ERA and 4-0 record over the last month. He only recently returned to the Cardinals starting rotation after being reposition to the bullpen from the end of May to early July.

He had a miserable start to the season along with the rest of the team, beginning with an 0-6 record. As a consequence of the struggles, he spent over a month in the bullpen regaining his technique, and has burst back onto the scene after the All-Star break.

Depending on the severity of the injury, the Cardinals may not rush Matz back as the season is all but lost. He would likely only have a handful of starts remaining in September if he is good to go, and the team has their sights set on a 2024 resurgence already.

The Cardinals have had a season to forget, cruising towards their first last-place finish in over a century. They sit two games back of the Pirates in the NL Central, and 11 games back overall. At this point, they are just trying to salvage the embarrassment of ending in dead last, something the proud franchise hasn't done since 1918.