econd off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but

MIAMI -- With time running out in the playoff race, the New York Mets set sympathy aside.Noah Syndergaard struck out eight and allowed one run in six innings Tuesday night, and the Mets totaled 19 hits to beat the grieving Miami Marlins 12-1.Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes each hit his 31st homer for the Mets, who maintained their half-game lead over the Giants for the first NL wild card. San Francisco routed Colorado 12-3.The Cardinals also won, beating Cincinnati 12-5, and remained 1 1/2 games behind the Mets with five days left in the regular season.The game was Miamis second since the death of ace Jose Fernandez in a boating accident. One night after the Marlins heart-tugging victory over New York filled with tributes to their teammate, emotions were more subdued, and their bats were too.Syndergaard (14-9) had a lot to do with that.Last night was a little different for us, he said. We just went out there tonight and competed. I feel like thats what Jose would have wanted us to do, with as much passion and heart as possible.After missing a scheduled start Saturday due to strep throat, Syndergaard threw 93 pitches and lowered his ERA to 2.60, third-best in the majors.I felt great. I felt strong out there, Syndergaard said. Every game right now coming down to the wire is critical. I tried to keep things simple, and went out there and tried to win each pitch.Hell return for the regular-season finale Sunday at Philadelphia if needed.Miamis Dee Gordon, who hit a Hollywood-worthy homer in the first inning Monday, again got things going in the first. This time he reached on a bunt, stole second and came home on a single by Marcell Ozuna.But against Syndergaard, the Marlins advanced only one other runner to second base.Im sure our guys are exhausted, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. But momentum is controlled by their guy. This cats got great stuff.For mourners at Marlins Park, there were nudges toward a return to normal. The Kiss Cam and organ music returned after a one-game hiatus, but the dugout dancers were still missing, along with the sea creatures that usually race around the warning track.Marlins players were back in their regular uniforms after they all wore Fernandezs No. 16 on Monday. But each jersey sported a patch with 16 on the sleeve, and the number remained stenciled on the back of the mound.The crowd was mostly quiet, except for transplanted New Yorkers. Bruce hit a two-run homer into the upper deck in right field off Tom Koehler in the second inning, and Cespedes hit an even more majestic two-run shot off the home run sculpture in the third.Lucas Duda contributed a three-run double, and Bruce and Curtis Granderson also drove in three runs for the Mets.We kind of got back to business as usual, Bruce said. Hearts are still heavy, and theyre going to be here. But we needed to win this game today, and we were able to do that.Koehler (9-13) allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings.VETERAN ROCKEDMets manager Terry Collins said RHP Bartolo Colon was unable to block out the emotions of the occasion when he allowed a season-high seven runs in 2 1/3 innings Monday.Were going to throw that out, Collins said. There were just too many things on everybodys mind. I dont think the true focus was there.MOURNING MARLINSSlugger Giancarlo Stanton said its important that the team pay proper tribute to Fernandez as they grieve.It has nothing to do with baseball, Stanton said before the game. If you care about life, if you have passion or loved ones or anybody, you can relate to this situation.A memorial service and public viewing for Fernandez are scheduled for Wednesday. Players will attend a Mass on Thursday.Fernandezs agent, Scott Boras, watched the game with Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria.TRAINERS ROOMMets: LHP Steven Matz will undergo surgery next week to remove bone spurs in his pitching elbow and miss the rest of the season. ... 3B Wilmer Flores (wrist) will sit out the rest of the series and will likely miss the rest of the regular season.UP NEXTMets RHP Seth Lugo (4-2, 2.61) is scheduled to start the rubber game of the series Wednesday against RHP Jose Urena (4-8, 5.95). Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Wholesale Diamondbacks Jerseys . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. http://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-luis-gonzalez-jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys China . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Authentic . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Tashia Brown scored 22 of her 28 points in the second half and Kendall Noble had 12 of her 16 after the break and Western Kentucky upset No. 23 Indiana 85-74 on Saturday.The Hilltoppers (2-1) shot 56.5 percent (13 of 23) in the second half to upend a second-straight ranked team at home. They knocked off then No. 16 Louisville 71-69 last November. They are now 41-0 when scoring at least 80 points under coach Michelle Clark-Heard.Western Kentucky led 63-56 after three quarters and then made 12 of 14 freee throws in the fourth quarter to finish 26 of 28 from the line in holding off the Hoosiers (3-1).ddddddddddddTyra Buss had 24 points for Indiana, which shot 7 for 27 in the fourth quarter to finish at 35 percent in the second half.Noble also had nine rebounds and seven assists. Micah Jones had 11 points, and her three 3-pointers moved her into eighth on the Western Kentucky career list with 143. ' ' '