As several of their Cardinals teammates headed to the team bus late Thursday afternoon, Jose Martinez sang loudly along to the salsa playing in the home clubhouse’s boombox. He shook his hips and looked over at Yadier Molina and Marcell Ozuna, who also mouthed the lyrics.
The joy was evident in their faces and their voices, and they had reason to celebrate after delivering an important early message to the rest of the National League that these Cardinals are legitimate playoff contenders.
You could not miss the festive mood inside the clubhouse at Busch Stadium, where the confident Cardinals delivered an impressive come-from-behind 4-3 victory in 13 innings over the Mets to win the three-game series, 2-1, against the NL East leaders.