JJ Wetherholt, Alec Burleson Lead Furious St. Louis Cardinals Comeback to beat Rays
Mar 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) hits a solo home run for his first major league hit during his major league debut in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Busch Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Busch Stadium was an exciting place to be today as the St. Louis Cardinals opened up the 2026 season against the Tampa Bay Rays. The parade of St.
Louis Cardinals Hall of Famers, the proud Budweiser Clydesdales and a stadium packed with plenty of fans wearing red. The game had plenty of highlights and it was a close game until the sixth inning when the Rays jumped out to a big lead, but the Cardinals put together a furious comeback to beat Tampa Bay. The St.
Louis Cardinals struck first when JJ Wetherholt came up for his second at-bat and hammered a 2-strike pitch into Freese’s Landing in center. JJ’s homer traveled 425 feet with an exit velocity of 101. 7 mph.
Nathan Church made an incredible catch in the fifth inning bringing a potential home run back from over the left field wall. It was the sixth inning when both teams would go wild. Matt Svanson relieved Matthew Liberatore who gave up 3 singles before being removed by Manager Oli Marmol who brought in Justin Bruihl .