In his second major-league game, rookie JJ Wetherholt delivered the kind of moment Cardinals fans will talk about for years.
With the bases empty and the score tied in the bottom of the 10th, Wetherholt lined a two-run single to right field off Griffin Jax, lifting the Cardinals to a 6-5 walk-off victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium. The win pushed St. Louis to 2-0 on the young season and gave the club a 2-0 series lead.
St. Louis Cardinals on X (formerly Twitter): “THE ROOKIE COMES THROUGH!!JJ WETHERHOLT WALKS IT OFF!! pic.twitter.com/y2A9RCoUBy / X”
THE ROOKIE COMES THROUGH!!JJ WETHERHOLT WALKS IT OFF!! pic.twitter.com/y2A9RCoUBy
Wetherholt, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 draft, finished 2-for-5 with the game-winning hit that scored Jordan Walker and automatic runner Nathan Church. The 22-year-old second baseman had already contributed in the first inning with a run scored on Alec Burleson’s RBI single. But nothing compared to the heroics in extra innings.
“I just tried to put a good swing on it and help the team win,” Wetherholt said afterward, the grin never leaving his face.
The Cardinals needed every bit of that late magic after Tampa Bay staged a stunning rally. St. Louis carried a 4-0 lead into the ninth, built on two first-inning runs and a two-run eighth that featured Iván Herrera’s RBI double.
But the Rays pushed across four runs in the top of the ninth to tie it, then took a 5-4 lead in the 10th on Yandy Díaz’s RBI single off Ryne Stanek. Stanek (1-0) ultimately earned the win despite the shaky outing, while Jax (0-1) took the loss after walking Walker to open the bottom of the 10th and surrendering Wetherholt’s decisive single following Victor Scott II’s sacrifice bunt.
The real story of the afternoon, though, belonged to right-hander Michael McGreevy. Making his first start of the season, the 25-year-old dominated for six hitless innings, walking just two and striking out five while throwing 96 pitches. He held the Rays without a base hit until Junior Caminero’s leadoff single in the seventh ended the club’s bid for its first no-hitter since 2001.
McGreevy’s gem set the tone for a pitching duel against Rays starter Joe Boyle. Boyle surrendered two runs on three hits in the first inning — including the Burleson and Nolan Gorman RBI singles — but then retired 16 straight batters, keeping the game within reach.
The Cardinals’ bullpen kept things close until the late fireworks. Once the Rays tied the game, the offense responded the way championship contenders are supposed to: with calm, clutch execution in extra innings.
For a team still piecing together its roster and breaking in young talent, Saturday felt like a statement. Wetherholt’s emergence, McGreevy’s electric start, and the ability to answer a four-run ninth with a walk-off 10th showed the resilience the club has been searching for.
The Cardinals now turn their attention to Sunday’s series finale, where they’ll send right-hander Kyle Leahy against Rays left-hander Steven Matz. With the season just two games old, St. Louis already sits atop the NL Central and has the Rays — now 0-2 — on the ropes.
For one afternoon at least, the Cardinals were exactly what their fans hoped they’d be: gritty, opportunistic, and downright thrilling when it mattered most.
