NEW YORK -- For a team thats historically been known for pitching, speed and defense, these St. Louis Cardinals sure are hitting a lot of home runs lately.Especially Jedd Gyorko.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.Hes amazing. Hes doing a great job, manager Mike Matheny said. Hes an interesting player. I dont think people realize how gd he is.The Cardinals lead the NL in home runs with 137, matching last years total. The last time they led the league was 1998, the Elias Sports Bureau said, when Mark McGwire hit 70 of their 223.No one on the Cardinals is among the league leaders in home runs, but eight players have reached double digits.We have a lot of guys with 20-plus potential, Matheny said. Not every team can say that.St. Louis has homered in 16 straight games, its best streak since a team-record 19-game string in 2006.The Mets played at home for the first time since the All-Star break and lost in a matchup of NL wild-card contenders. Citi Field was nearly empty at the start, a day after a rainout forced the twinbill.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.I dont know how many times I got to say it, this is crunch time, Collins said. Say whatever you want, this is the time where we got to win games, string them together, win eight out of 10.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 Phams one-hop single to load the bases, then made a wild, off-balance throw home on Martinezs comebacker to let a run score.Gyorko was hitless in his previous 10 at-bats when he connected in the third.The Cardinals opened a 10-game trip that also takes them to Miami and Cincinnati. They arrived at their New York hotel around 80 a.m. Monday after plane trouble, and the rainout gave them some much-needed rest.This was the Cardinals second doubleheader in a week, and their first against the Mets since 1999.26TH MANThe Cardinals recalled RHP Sam Tuivailala as the 26th player for the second game. Hes made three relief appearances for St. Louis this year. The Mets brought up 27-year-old lefty Josh Smoker -- hes made 43 relief appearance for Triple-A Las Vegas, and has never been in the majors.UP NEXTCardinals: LHP Jaime Garcia (7-6, 3.9 pitches Game 2. He is 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA in five career starts against the Mets. Thats his lowest ERA vs. any opponent.Mets: RHP Bartolo Colon (8-5, 3.4 faces the Cardinals in the second game. He went 0-2 with a 15.58 ERA against them last year. Doug Flutie Chargers Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Keenan Allen Youth Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. http://www.chargersauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-dan-fouts-jersey.html . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Melvin Gordon III Womens Jersey . That left plenty of energy for pitching bks and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Jerry Tillery Womens Jersey . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Its been almost four years since Dallas and Pittsburgh last went toe-to-toe and in that game, Dallas eventually won, 27-24.While many of the main characters in that 2012 drama remain, these two blueblds have traveled a far different path to where they are today.Forget that the Cowboys and Steelers have made 16 Super Bowl appearances and won 11 Vince Lombardi Trophies between them. The two franchises are among the most winning, the most proud and most popular, and nothing short of winning is tolerated or expected.And winning is what the 7-1 Cowboys have been doing this year since dropping their season opener to the New York Giants.And while their record might not be a gd indication, the 4-4 Steelers arent far off the Cowboys heels, even though they have dropped three straight.So when Pittsburgh and Dallas collide, bragging rights -- at a minimum -- are at stake, and on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. in Pittsburgh its no different.The Cowboys have been the brightest surprise in the NFL this season having reeled off seven straight wins, including last weeks shellacking of the Cleveland Browns. But despite having two of the leagues most prolific weapons in rkie quarterback Dak Prescott and rkie running back Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys are 3-point underdogs to the Steelers.Elliott leads the NFL in rushing and is on pace to break Eric Dickersons rkie mark of 1,808 yards.Prescott has filled in for Tony Romo, who suffered a compression fracture almost three months ago, before the season started. Prescott has been stellar: 2,020 yards passing, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions.But this week, Romo finally returned to practice and owner/general manager Jerry Jones and coach Jason Garrett said his workload would be ramped up as the team is encouraged by the 36-year-olds progress.We just have to see where he is, Garrett told reporters. Tonys practiced four days over the last couple of weeks and has been involved in part of practices on each of those days. Well do something similar with him today. Hell start in individuals and see how he does. Hell be working some scout-team reps like he did last week.Well just take the situation day-by-day. We have a number of guys who are injured on the team, and thats what we do. We see how they do in individual and maybe they roll and get more into practice. We do anticipate Tony getting some gd, positive work today. We will evaluate his situation day-by-day.Romo might be active Sunday, although there were reports Friday he wont be, but Prescott will be the starter. Romo was listed as questionable on the injury report.I know how bad he wants to compete, Jones said. Any time hes limited because of injury, I hate that. Its always has been the biggest downer for a competitor.On the other hand, for Tony, there isnt anything more important than being on a team that is capable of winning and competing for the big prize.On the Steelers side of the ball, there arent any questions about who the quarterback is. When healthy, Ben Roethlisberger is going to be slinging the ball across the field. Even when he isnt 100 percent, Roethlisberger is Pittsburghs man.He returned last week after knee surgery on Oct. 17 and was rusty at the beginning of a 21-14 loss to Baltimore. Roethlisberger overcame a slow start and completed 23 of 45 passes for 264 yards with a touchdown and interception.His teammates didnt help as they committed 13 penalties. Head coachh Mike Tomlin promised to fix the penalty problem before the Cowboys come to town.ddddddddddddWe havent been gd at that in the last several weeks, and probably more disturbing than the fact that we are being penalized is some of them are procedural things, pre-play things. In-play things sometimes happen, a facemask penalty in an effort to make a play. False starts, offside, delay of game, covering up eligible receivers. Those things are very much in our control and we have to eliminate.Roethlisberger also admitted the need to be better.I put it on myself. I need to be more accurate. Give them credit -- there were times I was going to make throws and their guys jumped in front of things. ... I just need to be better.The Steelers offense is averaging 32.6 points per game in the three home games Roethlisberger has started this season. In those games, he has thrown 12 touchdown passes and only two interceptions.Its always a little easier to play at home, Roethlisberger said. But thats the first half of the season. Im not thinking about the gd or bad with anything in the first half of the season.Were strictly moving forward. We need to be the best ftball team we can be at home and on the road.On Sunday, he faces a tough task against a Dallas defense that flies under the radar.Rod Marinellis defense is the only one that hasnt allowed a 100-yard rusher or 100-yard receiver this year. It now ranks among the top 10 in total defense, yielding 332.9 yards per game. Dallas also is one of two defenses in the NFL that have allowed no more than 23 points in any game.And theyre doing this without safety Barry Church and cornerback Morris Claiborne who remain sidelined.The Pittsburgh offense will provide a stiff test. Roethlisberger has another week under his belt to strengthen his knee and more practice time with All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown.Brown had a game-high seven receptions for 85 yards and a 23-yard touchdown against Baltimore. But for the Steelers offense to be clicking, Roethlisberger needs to find another receiver to take the double-team pressure off Brown.Roethlisberger might have found his man on Sunday. Eli Rogers registered six receptions for 103 yards.Running back LeVeon Bell will try to match the Cowboys Elliott stride for stride on Sunday. With 70 yards against the Ravens, Bell surpassed Willie Parker for the second most yards from scrimmage by a Steeler in his first four years.Bell is hoping that Maurkice Pouncey will be ready to go on Sunday and that appears to be the case. The three-time Pro Bowl center dislocated his thumb on the second play from scrimmage on Sunday and had surgery before pronouncing himself ready to play on Thursday.Im playing 100 percent, never any doubt, Pouncey told reporters. People are making a bigger deal than what it is. Lets just go play, man, we got a ftball game.The Steelers also received gd news on the injury front when outside linebacker Bud Dupree, who had surgery before the season to repair a sports hernia, practiced Wednesday for the first time since training camp.Its going to be a process, Dupree said after practice. Im excited to be back on the field.Running back DeAngelo Williams underwent knee surgery earlier this week, turning the backup chores over to Fitzgerald Toussaint. ' ' '