{"id":117115,"date":"2026-03-30T08:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=117115"},"modified":"2026-03-29T20:57:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T00:57:38","slug":"standout-cardinals-from-the-opening-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/30\/standout-cardinals-from-the-opening-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Standout Cardinals From the Opening Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

The St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> had a successful start to their 2026 season. They took two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays. Their first win saw them rally from a 7-1 deficit, and their second saw them walk it off in the tenth inning. There was plenty to cheer about at Busch Stadium this weekend.<\/p>\n

With the first series wrapped up, let’s highlight the Cardinals’ three standout performers from the weekend.<\/p>\n

Standout Cardinals of the Opening Series<\/h2>\n

This list marks the first of a weekly series on Last Word On Baseball<\/em>. After each weekend series concludes, we’ll review the Cardinals’ standouts of the week, Monday through Sunday.<\/p>\n

Typically, we will focus on individual players. However, some weeks we may spotlight groups, concepts, or characteristics\u2014whatever stands out most. While our focus is on positive contributions, negative standouts may also appear.<\/p>\n

Standout #3- Jordan Walker<\/a><\/h3>\n

Walker enters the 2026 season with a lot to prove<\/a>. Can he develop into the player the Cardinals thought he was when they drafted him, or could he be the latest bust?<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Walker’s weekend showed measurable progress. Notably, he did not strike out, addressing a major weakness from previous seasons and showing improvement in plate discipline. By consistently putting the ball in play, Walker avoided empty at-bats that had previously hurt the team’s offensive flow.<\/p>\n

This approach paid off. Walker’s ground-rule double on Opening Day contributed to sustaining a crucial rally in the eight-run sixth inning. On Saturday, he showcased situational awareness by drawing a walk to lead off extras and scoring the winning run, demonstrating baserunning and patience. On Sunday, his three-hit game\u2014including a three-run homer\u2014reflected both power and consistency at the plate.<\/p>\n

It is just three games, but it is a positive start.<\/p>\n

Standout #2- Alec Burleson<\/a><\/h3>\n

Fresh off a Silver Slugger award in 2025, Burleson delivered consistent production. His 3-4 performance on Thursday set the tone, as he sparked the eight-run sixth with a single and capped it with a two-run home run. On Saturday, Burleson showed clutch hitting by driving in two more runs when the team needed them.<\/p>\n

Defensively, he looked good at first base. Burleson has had time at first base in the past, but will play there full-time this season. His standout defensive play came on Saturday, turning a 3-6-3 double play.<\/p>\n

Standout #1- JJ Wetherholt<\/a><\/h3>\n

Wetherholt’s debut series illustrated his patient approach<\/a> at the plate. Working a 3-2 count in his first at-bat showed patience, and after falling behind 0-2 in his second at-bat, he adjusted and hit his first career home run\u2014demonstrating the ability to recover in challenging counts. His sacrifice fly later highlighted his knack for producing runs in high-leverage moments.<\/p>\n

Wetherholt’s Saturday fueled a productive Cardinals’ start with a leadoff single and a stolen base, immediately impacting the first-inning offense. In the tenth with the Cardinals trailing, Wetherholt delivered a two-run walk-off hit to right field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just going up ready to hit, honestly,\u201d Wetherholt said<\/a>. \u201cI was in the zone, singing my walk-up song, it\u2019s a good spot to be. Just trying to lock in to the situation and do anything it took to help the team win.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

THE ROOKIE COMES THROUGH!!<\/p>\n

JJ WETHERHOLT WALKS IT OFF!! pic.twitter.com\/y2A9RCoUBy<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 28, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In just two games, Wetherholt has already made major-league history. He is the first player to hit a home run in his first game and then get a walk-off hit in his second.<\/p>\n

It was an impressive debut for the rookie. We\u2019ll see what comes next in the upcoming series.<\/p>\n

The Week Ahead<\/h3>\n

The Cardinals remain home to start the week, opening a three-game series with the New York Mets<\/a>. The team will then hit the road for the first time this season, playing the Detroit Tigers on Easter weekend.<\/p>\n

Be sure to check back in with LWOB for more Cardinals and league-wide coverage as we enter the first full week of the MLB season!<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Jeff Curry- Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The St. Louis Cardinals had a successful start to their 2026 season. They took two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays. Their first win saw them rally from a 7-1 deficit, and their second saw them walk it off in the tenth inning. There was plenty to cheer about at Busch Stadium this weekend. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3464,"featured_media":117123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1071],"tags":[28578,6536,6383],"class_list":["post-117115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cardinals","category-mlb","tag-alec-burleson","tag-jj-wetherholt","tag-jordan-walker"],"modified_by":"Andrew Willis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3464"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117115"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117124,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117115\/revisions\/117124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}