There are a lot of reasons for the St. Louis Cardinals to be thrilled. They are now leading the NL Central, co-owning the longest winning streak in MLB and are coming off of a series sweep over the New York Yankees.

While not quite as special as their 17-game winning streak from last September, the Cardinals have won seven straight games (tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers) after beating the Yankees 12-9 at Busch Stadium. They got a rally going against their new pitching acquisition, Frankie Montas, and punctuated it with a three-run homer from Nolan Arenado in the second inning.

Although the Yankees fought back to tie it, the Cardinals retook the lead each time and won the high-scoring affair. Partnered with their 4-3 and 1-0 wins, it marked the first time an NL team swept the Yankees (in a series of three games) for the first time in 15 years. It was also the first time they have done so in team history.

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The Cardinals are 60-48 on the season and in the driver's seat to make the playoffs. An MVP-caliber season from Paul Goldschmidt and a revamped pitching staff with Jose Quintana and Jordan Montgomery (a former Yankee that dominated his former team on Saturday) has the redbirds on a roll.

St. Louis still has to deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, who are not too far behind them in the chase for the division title. Their deep lineup and pitching staff should be able to get them back into the postseason.