In a thrilling I-70 showdown that had fans on their feet—and some without shirts—the St. Louis Cardinals edged out the Kansas City Royals 5-4 in 11 innings Friday night at Busch Stadium.

The hero of the night? Yohel Pozo, who delivered his first hit in seven pinch-hit opportunities this season. With two outs and the game on the line, Pozo lined an opposite-field single to right off Steven Cruz (0-1), sparking a wild celebration among roughly 100 shirtless fans in the right-field seats who had been rallying the team since the ninth inning.

Pozo's excitement nearly got the best of him—he initially forgot to run hard out of the box and had to be urged by teammates to avoid a force play. But the hit stood, giving St. Louis its fourth walk-off win of the season, already closing in on last year's total of six.

Jordan Walker continued his hot streak, collecting three hits including his 13th homer of the year, boosting his average to .309. The Cardinals struggled all night with runners in scoring position (1-for-12) before Pozo's clutch moment.

The game had its share of twists. Kansas City jumped ahead 2-0 in the fourth on Carter Jensen's RBI double and Isaac Collins' sacrifice fly. But Walker answered in the bottom half with a solo shot off former Cardinal Michael Wacha, and Pedro Pagés added another homer in the fifth to put St. Louis up 3-2.

The Royals tied it in the sixth on Collins' groundout, then took a 4-3 lead in the 10th on Bobby Witt Jr.'s double. But Alec Burleson's RBI single in the bottom half kept the Cardinals alive, setting the stage for Pozo's heroics.

Manager Oliver Marmol earned his 351st win, tying Hall of Famer Joe Torre for ninth on the Cardinals' all-time list. For Kansas City, the loss extended their skid to five straight and seven of nine, dropping them to the bottom of the AL Central.