{"id":122103,"date":"2026-05-17T19:21:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T23:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=122103"},"modified":"2026-05-17T19:21:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T23:21:33","slug":"cardinals-standouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/17\/cardinals-standouts\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals’ Standouts of the Week: Week of 5\/11-5\/17"},"content":{"rendered":"
It is time once again to identify the St. Louis Cardinals’ standouts of the week. The team went 4-2, winning both of their series against the Athletics and the Kansas City Royals. It was a good week, but who stood out? Most importantly, why? <\/span><\/div>\n

Cardinals’ Standouts of the Week<\/span><\/h2>\n

Standout #3- The “Tarps-Off” Section<\/span><\/h3>\n
Yes, we are giving the fans a shoutout. Hear us out.<\/span><\/div>\n
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During Friday’s game, a group of fans caught the attention of many with chants and cheers that mimicked the atmosphere of a soccer game. Notably, the spirited individuals removed their shirts and waved them overhead as they cheered the Cardinals to victory. Cardinals’ manager Oli Marmol praised the enthusiastic group<\/a> after the team’s walk-off win.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWhoever started that in right field, I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure they come every game. \u201cBecause that was awesome…\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
Marmol put his money where his mouth was, buying tickets for those fans for Saturday and Sunday’s game. Sure enough, the “tarps-off” trend carried into the final two games of the weekend series. Will the trend carry into the new week? Time will tell.<\/span><\/div>\n
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So, why does a group of loud, shirtless fans earn a place in an article about Cardinals’ standouts? It earns a place because of what it represents. The Cardinals have missed the postseason three seasons in a row. Frustrations with the previous front office led many fans to choose not to come to games. Empty seats soon became a common sight at Busch Stadium III. This is not because fans were not loyal, but because they simply did not want to invest money in an organization whose front office seemed not to be choosing a clear image for the team.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The start of the Chaim Bloom era in St. Louis offered hope of change, and it began with a bang during an active winter<\/a>. Now, the team is exceeding expectations. The Cardinals are exciting again. And the fans see that. This sea of shirtless fans, while funny at first, is a symbol of how Bloom has always changed the Cardinals’ atmosphere. That is why the “tarps-off trend” section is included in this week’s installment.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Walkoff win in St Louis and its TARPS OFF throughout the ballpark! pic.twitter.com\/ZW12UPs6Vn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Standout #2- Matt Svanson<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
Svanson made the Cardinals’ standouts list last week<\/a> for the wrong reasons. After a bounce-back week, it seems appropriate to give him his flowers.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Svanson pitched in three games this week. He did not allow a run in any of those appearances, pitching a full inning in each. He did allow a base runner in each appearance, but the zero is what matters most right now. The strong week lowers his ERA to 8.72. There is still plenty for improvement, but this week was a step in the right direction.<\/span><\/div>\n
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2025 showed Svanson can be a weapon out of the bullpen. Could this week be a sign he is turning things around? If so, it will be another weapon for Marmol to use in his bullpen. JoJo Romero<\/a> and Riley O’Brien<\/a> have been lights out in the backend of games this season. An effective Swanson can further shorten games and make the Cardinals even harder to play against. <\/span><\/div>\n

Standout #1- Jordan Walker<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n
Walker continues to impress<\/a> in 2026. Walker recorded eight hits in six games, including two home runs. His biggest hit came on Thursday against the Athletics, driving in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth as the Cardinals rallied to win the game.<\/span><\/div>\n
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SCRIPT \u27a1\ufe0f FLIPPED pic.twitter.com\/ZBPpnlbe9q<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So far in May, Walker is hitting .358<\/a> with four home runs and 11 RBIs. He has shown no signs of slowing down. Walker has become so reliable at the plate that Marmol has even batted him third against left-handed starting pitchers. He started the season batting sixth in the lineup, and is now hitting either third or cleanup. Fans are recognizing Walker’s hot bat, with chants of “MVP” being heard at Busch Stadium this weekend.<\/span><\/div>\n
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There is nothing that can be said about Walker that has not been said already in a previous installment. Is an eventual dry spell likely? Most likely, as all great hitters hit one during a 162-game season. When that time comes, it will be interesting to see how he responds. Until then, Walker is playing at an All-Star level and is deserving of those MVP chants. <\/span><\/div>\n

The Week Ahead<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Cardinals remain at home to start the week, hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates for three games. After that, the Cardinals head to Ohio, where they will play the Cincinnati Reds for the first time this season.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Be sure to check in next Sunday to see the next set of Cardinals’ standouts!<\/span><\/div>\n
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Main Photo: Jeff Curry- Imagn Images<\/em><\/div>\n

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It is time once again to identify the St. Louis Cardinals’ standouts of the week. The team went 4-2, winning both of their series against the Athletics and the Kansas City Royals. It was a good week, but who stood out? Most importantly, why? Cardinals’ Standouts of the Week Standout #3- The “Tarps-Off” Section Yes, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3464,"featured_media":122107,"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":[1071,25],"tags":[6383,29388,6420],"class_list":["post-122103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-cardinals","tag-jordan-walker","tag-matt-svanson","tag-oliver-marmol"],"modified_by":"Andrew Willis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122103","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=122103"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122108,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122103\/revisions\/122108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}