ST. LOUIS – Home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott punched the air to call the final out of the game, and Cubs closer Daniel Palencia balled his hands into fists and shouted in celebration. He bounded his chest and spun around, facing up the first base line as he shouted again.
For a moment, the tensions that had flared earlier in the inning, when Palencia hit Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras in the hand, threatened to boil over with an exchanging of words. But the swarms of players leaving both dugouts didn’t converge. And the blue jerseys formed a handshake line to commemorate the 3-0 win in the series finale at Busch Stadium.