Jedd Gyorko connected again, launching a two-run drive off Noah Syndergaard that sent the Cardinals over the New York Mets 3-2 Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader.
Gyorko homered for the sixth time in eight games, giving him 13 this season.
The Cardinals lead the NL in home runs with 137, matching last year's total. The last time they led the league was 1998, the Elias Sports Bureau said, when Mark McGwire hit 70 of their 223.
Carlos Martinez (10-6) gave up a two-run homer to Rene Rivera and left after the fifth inning with a 3-2 lead. Three relievers finished, with Seung Hwan Oh getting his fifth save in six chances.
Curtis Granderson led off the Mets ninth with a single but was thrown out trying to tag up on Yoenis Cespedes' drive that Tommy Pham caught in deep center field.
Syndergaard (9-5) has won only one of his last five starts. The All-Star had a tough sequence in the second - he got hit in the lower right leg by Pham's one-hop single to load the bases, then made a wild, off-balance throw home on Martinez's comebacker to let a run score.
New York lost despite throwing out three runners on the bases and manager Terry Collins winning a pair of replay challenges. The Mets have alternated wins and losses for the last 11 games.
Bartolo Colon pitched three-hit ball for seven sharp innings and the New York Mets overcame another home run by Jedd Gyorko to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 Tuesday night for a doubleheader split.
Gyorko homered in both ends and has connected seven times in nine games. His two-run shot helped St. Louis win the opener 3-2.
Colon (9-5) struck out eight and walked none, throwing 65 of his 87 pitches for strikes. After Gyorko homered in the second and Alberto Rosario doubled in the third, Colon set down 14 of his final 15 batters.
Addison Reed worked the eighth and Jeurys Familia closed for his 36th save this year and 52nd in a row during the regular season.
Asdrubal Cabrera ended his 0-for-32 rut with runners in scoring position with an RBI double and added a sacrifice fly off Jaime Garcia (7-7). Wilmer Flores doubled and singled twice, and Collins helped by winning his third replay challenge of the day.
A rainout Monday forced the first doubleheader between the Mets and Cardinals since 1999.
Adam Wainwright (9-5, 4.09) is 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA in four July starts opposite Logan Verrett (3-6, 4.14).
