Cards drop nightcap

Cards drop nightcap

MLB.com NEW YORK — The sun had just set at Citi Field, but the nightcap of a Tuesday doubleheader between the Mets and Cardinals was starting to look a lot like its afternoon counterpart. Jedd Gyorko, who hit the decisive two-run homer in the Cardinals' one-run win earlier, went deep in the second inning against Bartolo Colon.

The similarities ended there in the Mets' 3-1 win. While Noah Syndergaard slogged through six innings during the day, Colon limited St. Louis' offense to Gyorko's blast. He held the Cardinals to three hits through seven frames, the first time he'd pitched that deep in a game since June 26. Plus, he tied a season high with eight strikeouts.

• Gyorko's HR helps Cards edge Mets in DH opener Jaime Garcia left the game after five innings, but he was hurt by a defensive lapse behind him. Randal Grichuk misplayed a ball off the bat of Neil Walker in the fourth, allowing Wilmer Flores to advance to third. Flores scored when James Loney grounded into a double play to put the Mets up, 2-1.

Greg Garcia singled off Jeurys Familia in the ninth, but the Mets' closer didn't let him advance and nailed down his 52nd straight regular- season save. Familia is now two saves behind Tom Gordon for the secondlongest streak in Major League history.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Let's do it again: Gyorko kickstarted the Cardinals' offense in the nightcap with a home run in the second inning that traveled 385 feet, according to Statcast™. With the blast, Gyorko joined elite company, becoming the first Cardinals player to homer in both games of a doubleheader multiple times in a season since Stan Musial in 1949. The infielder homered three times during St. Louis' doubleheader against the Padres on Wednesday at Busch Stadium.

Slump snapper: When he stepped up to the plate with a runner on third in the third inning, Asdrubal Cabrera brought an 0-for-32 skid with runners in scoring position with him. He broke the slump with a double off the wall in left field, before driving in another run with a sac fly in the fifth. Cabrera now has 33 RBIs, the third most on the team.

By Joshua Needelman and Troy Provost-Heron