St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol purchased remaining tickets in the Tarps Off section at Busch Stadium and gave them away for free on Saturday and Sunday. The move followed energetic shirtless celebrations by the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team that helped fuel a 5-4 walk-off win over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. The Cardinals followed with a 4-2 victory on Saturday.
Marmol opened his postgame remarks after Friday’s game by praising the group. “Whoever started that in right field, I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure they come every game,” he said. “That was awesome.” The following morning he confirmed the giveaway was already arranged, and the team’s social media accounts posted links for fans to claim the free seats while supplies lasted. More than 1,000 tickets were distributed in under an hour across the two games.