A club baseball team provided the energy the Cardinals needed for back-to-back wins over the Royals.
The St. Louis Cardinals walked off the Kansas City Royals in 11 innings at Busch Stadium. However, the story of that game wasn’t only the win, but a dedicated set of Cardinals fans in the right field seats.
Fans sitting in the upper level near the right field pole went shirtless, waving them like rally towels as the Cardinals rallied to win 5-4. Those fans caught the attention of manager Oli Marmol, who spoke about it postgame.
“Whoever started that in right field, I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure they come to every game.”
Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said he would "do whatever I need to do" to get the shirtless fans that cheered them to an 11th inning walk-off back to more games Friday.
Now, he's bought all the tickets for the "Tarps Off" section for today's and tomorrow's game.
(🎥 via @KMOV) pic.twitter.com/F7ReH5wNef
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 16, 2026
It turns out that it was a club baseball team that started the trend. The Stephen F. Austin club baseball team came in Friday night and injected energy into the game. Eventually, St. Louis rallied to win on a walkoff single from backup catcher Yohel Pozo.
The next day, Marmol put his money where his mouth was. The Cardinals manager bought out an entire section of tickets in right field. The team announced a flash sale of free tickets for their upcoming game.
https://x.com/OliMarmol/status/2055698008931442876
Unsurprisingly, fans accepted the offer and showed up to the team’s next game against the Royals. Among the fans to take advantage of the offer was the same club team, who were late arrivals to the game after celebrating their own walk-off win.
While the game was delayed due to weather, not even Mother Nature could stop the Cardinals and their shirtless fans from enjoying a 4-2 win over the Royals to take the series. Although it may have helped the club team to be able to enjoy the second half of the game after a trip across the Mississippi River from Alton, IL to St. Louis.
The tarps off celebration not only left a strong impression on Marmol, but also on the Cardinals players. Designated hitter Ivan Herrera was doing the celebration after a first inning double.
After the game, the Stephen F. Austin club team celebrated in the Cardinals’ clubhouse. The two teams did a handshake line, waved their shirts around, and posed for a photo. Unsurprisingly, the club baseball team chose to take their shirts off for it.
Coming into the 2026 season, the outlook on the club wasn’t strong after trading much of their veteran talent away. Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Brendan Donovan headlined the departures.
However, these trades shouldn’t be viewed as a fire sale, but rather freeing up opportunities for younger players to thrive. Providing one such example, the Donovan and Arenado trades opened the door for rookie JJ Wetherholt to play.
Entering the season as the No. 5 prospect in MLB, Wetherholt has been as good as advertised. The rookie second baseman has put up a 122 wRC+ and 1.8 fWAR in his first 44 games. He is in a heated race for Rookie of the Year with New York Mets ace Nolan McLean.
Wetherholt and the new-look Cardinals have given their fans plenty to cheer for this season. St. Louis is off to a 27-18 start to the year, and they’re in a great spot to contend for a postseason spot. As the club continues to stack wins, the atmosphere at Busch Stadium should return to its former glory in the 2010s.
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott is a writer at Heavy Sports covering the Arizona Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Michael has 10 years experience writing about the D-backs and their farm system for AZ Snake Pit, Burn City Sports, and Diamondbacks On SI. More about Michael McDermott
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