For a peek inside the Cardinals' clubhouse and manager Oliver Marmol's office on Saturday here is a funny one-liner that pretty well sums up one particular area of improvement for the Redbirds in 2026.

On the heels of home runs by Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson from Friday's 7-2 win over the Dodgers, the Cardinals came into Saturday night's game tied for fifth in MLB in home runs. The Cards had 43 homers before Game 2 of the series against L.A., tying them with the Cubs, Astros and Angels.

The Yankees are far-and-away first in MLB in homers with 53. The Braves (45) and Dodgers (45) are second, while the Reds are fourth with 44 long balls.

Asked about his team's power surge of late and its climb up the home run rankings, manager Oliver Marmol offered up a very simplistic and informative explanation.

"You have a healthy (Ivan) Herrera, the addition of JJ Wetherholt and a revamped (Jordan) Walker, and that tends to help that total," Marmol said matter-of-factly to the question about his club's production.

Jordan Walker got a torrid start with eight homers in the first three weeks of the season hit his 10th home run of the season on Saturday when Dodgers' right-hander hung a split-finger fastball. Walker hit the ball 110 mph and 372 feet and into the seats beyond the left field wall.

The Cardinals have an MLB-most five players with at least five home runs. Wetherholt has seven long balls -- tied for the most in MLB among leadoff hitters. Alec Burleson, Nathan Church and Nolan Gorman have each hit five homers. Eleven of the Cardinals 13 position players have homered this season.

"Other guys have stepped and done their parts, but it's not because we're trying to hit home runs," Marmol said. "I think we're just swinging at good pitches, controlling the strike zone and getting our swings off."