ST. LOUIS — The Cardinals and especially their manager were so enamored, so energized by the atmosphere created Friday night by a bare-chested brigade of college men that inspired hundreds to join them in the right-field seats for shirt-whirling and chanting, that Oli Marmol purchased the unsold tickets in the same sections for Saturday’s game at Busch Stadium.

He offered them to anyone who wanted to join the fun and see the show.

An entertaining game wasn’t promised.

But it was implied.

This is what these Cardinals do.

Locked in another one-run tussle for almost half the game, the Cardinals pulled ahead just as the right-field seats started the fill. Players from Stephen F. Austin’s club baseball team showed up after their morning win, and off came the shirts, on went the chants as the Cardinals with a rally forged a 4-2 victory Saturday against Kansas City.

The Cardinals scored two runs on sacrifice flies, needed a hitter to break an 0-for-30 slump for the go-ahead rally, and stitched together the late innings from their ready relievers. Closer Riley O’Brien was evidently not available, leaving the ninth to George Soriano. He allowed a solo homer in the ninth to tighten the score but wasn’t phased and finished the inning for his second save of the season.

Fittingly, a double play ended the game.

Victor Scott II removed his jersey and swung it around to celebrate.

“We’ve been in that situation a lot,” Marmol said of close games before shelling out for the tickets. “Every night we’re in that style of game.”

For the first time in his career as part of the rotation, Kyle Leahy finished the sixth inning. He navigated around eight baserunners to do so and spent most of his start clinging to the one-run lead the Cardinals created in the bottom of the first.

Leahy finishing the sixth was likely essential given the recent use of the bullpen. Marmol turned to some relievers outside their usual assignments, like lefty Justin Bruihl pitching the eighth with a two-run lead. Gordon Graceffo was first out of the bullpen and pitched around a double to hold the two-run lead. Bruihl whipped through the eighth, and the Cardinals added on in the eighth when Alec Burleson collected his second RBI.

Saggese snaps skid, makes slide

More than a month without a hit ended for Thomas Saggese and a rally started for Cardinals.

Saggese pulled a leadoff single to left field to open the fifth inning and begin the tie-breaking run of offense. The utility fielder entered the game on a 0-for-29 plummet that stretched back to the second week of April and tumbled further to 0 for 30 with his second-inning flyout. Saggese had more demotions to Class AAA Memphis in the past two weeks than he had hits, and those were only partially related. Playing time had become so limited for Saggese, that the Cardinals wanted to send him back to Triple-A where he could play every day and regain a rhythm at the plate.

An injury to Ramon Urias (elbow) meant Saggese U-turned back to the majors before he took a swing in the minors, and an attempt was made to get him at-bats in St. Louis.

Saturday’s game against the Royals’ lefty offered the obvious option.

Rookie JJ Wetherholt got a rare day off, which put Saggese’ right-handed bat at No. 6 in the lineup.

In the bottom of the same inning the shirtless fans and their chants started growing in volume, Saggese opened with the single. He reached third on Nathan Church’s double.

The end of Saggese’s hitless skid would not have been a run without his slide.

With one out and two runners in scoring position, No. 9 Scott came to the plate in a classic bunt situation. The Royals positioned themselves accordingly, but third baseman Maikel Garcia hung back to keep Saggese near third. Scott never did show bunt, and instead tried to slap a ground ball through the Royals’ scrunched-in infield.

First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino stabbed at the grounder and had a play at home on Saggese. He bolted from third on contact — and with the possibility of a throw he dove for the back point of home plate. That choice and execution kept him from being tagged by catcher Carter Jensen. Saggese’s run broke a 1-1 tie.

Leadoff hitter Masyn Winn, spelling for Wetherholt in the order, then skied a fly ball to center field to score Church for the 3-1 lead leaving the fifth.

Leahy finds way through sixth

Leahy’s finest inning might have been his final inning and it was vital.

The Cardinals’ right-hander retired all three batters he faced in the sixth inning to cover one more inning for a bullpen that was without some of its highest-leverage options. Leahy got two groundouts and a fly ball immediately after the Cardinals took the two-run lead. The final out of his start was a hotshot grounder that the gloved on the mound and tossed to first base to end the inning.

Leahy allowed one run through six innings.

He gave the Royals ample opportunities to change that. Kansas City peppered the right-hander with five hits, and Leahy walked three batters. He was helped at various times in the same way other Cardinals’ pitchers have been: with a little help from the gloves. Burleson scooped a ricochet grounder for a out in the second inning. Jordan Walker tracked a hard liner for a n out with a runner on abse in the second inning. And Pedro Pages caught Bobby Witt Jr. trying to steal second in the third inning.

Witt had opened the inning with a leadoff single and was trying to give the middle of the KC order a chance to tie the game with a runner in scoring position.

The out was only the third time in 16 tries that Witt had been thrown out.

It derailed the inning for the Royals and gave Leahy one more escape route.

In the second inning, he left the bases loaded by getting a ground ball that Winn coolly tossed to Saggese for the out at second base.

Leahy got seven swings and misses total in his six innings, five of them on his change-up. He finished both of his strikeouts with off-speed pitches. One came on a change-up, and the other came on a sweeping slider that was taken for a called strike 3.

KC briefly ties the game

Most of Leahy’s outing was spent pitching with a one-run lead.

Ivan Herrera bounced a ground-rule double into the right-field seats with one out in the first inning. He advanced to third on Walker’s single to left. The Cardinals’ designated hitter on Saturday, Herrera scored for a 1-0 lead on Burleson’s sacrifice fly.

It took another four innings for the Royals to answer.

Leadoff hitter Garcia tagged Leahy with a double. The right-hander got a loud out from Witt to stall the rally only momentarily. Pasquantino flipped a single to center that scored Garcia and tied the game, 1-1, in the top of the fifth.

That was about the time that the shirtless crowd in right field began to find its voice and gather its numbers.

The roll call begin in that same top of the fifth.

The Cardinals took the lead in the bottom of that inning with the shirts whirling and chants coming ever louder from the “tarps off” section.

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