Cardinals London Series just got even worse thanks to Jack Flaherty

More bad news brewing for the Cardinals: starting pitcher Jack Flaherty has a tough injury setback, putting a damper on the club’s London Series.

As if the St. Louis Cardinals needed lightning to go along with the thunderstorm: the club announced that starting pitcher Jack Flaherty will be scratched from Sunday’s game due to hip discomfort.

Flaherty’s injury doesn’t warrant a stint on the injured list, though given the Cardinals’ bad luck this season, he may not be in the clear just yet. In his place, it’s expected that Matthew Liberatore will get the start.

The club suffered bad form along with its bad luck having been drubbed 9-1 by the Chicago Cubs in the first game of the series on Saturday. Along with the Flaherty news, several players have apparently been bitten by the sickness bug including reliever Jordan Hicks, second baseman Nolan Gorman, and outfielder Jordan Walker.

Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty scratched from Sunday’s game due to hip issue

Whether they’re playing on domestic soil or across the pond, the Cardinals are going through an absolute stinker of a season and are currently sitting in last place in the NL Central with a 31-45 record.

Paul Goldschmidt got the Cards’ sole run in London Stadium as St. Louis’ offense and defense sputtered all night. One of the lowlights of the game was definitely Adam Wainwright, who allowed 11 hits and a season-high seven runs; he later called his performance a “perfect storm of horribleness,” which sums it up quite nicely.

With Flaherty scratched and a chunk of the Cardinals’ clubhouse out due to illness, the question is whether the Cards will have any fight left in them to give London fans a run for their money.

The lefty Liberatore, who will likely replace Flaherty in Sunday’s line-up, owns a 6.12 ERA and 1.56 WHIP so far this season.

Facing Cubs ace Marcus Stroman, the NL leader in ERA (2.28), the Cardinals may yet again have to wave the white flag early.