Defense, pitching and home games have been sources of irritation for the St. Louis Cardinals.But hitting homers can cover a multitude of sins, and St. Louis is currently in position for its sixth straight postseason berth because it continues to crush the ball over the wall.As the Cardinals start a three-game series Tuesday night with the New York Mets at Busch Stadium, theyll do so having belted a National League-high 173 homers, including 26 in their last 12 games.Only Baltimore (192) and Toronto (179) have drilled more homers than St. Louis, and both have the advantage of playing their home games in hitters parks.Its not the only way we can score runs, but its our main way, Cardinals first baseman Brandon Moss said. Weve got a lot of guys in the lineup that can do a lot of damage, and it puts some stress on pitchers. Its nice to have guys in the lineup who can change a game like that.Moss has done more than any St. Louis hitter to change games with the long ball, even though he missed nearly a month with a sprained ankle. In just 290 at-bats, Moss has cracked 23 homers, his latest on Sunday in a 9-0 win at Philadelphia.The Cardinals recorded four homers in that game, including their 14th pinch-hit blast of the year by Jeremy Hazelbaker in the eighth inning. That tied the all-time MLB record and capped a 6-3 road trip that gave St. Louis (66-57) a 1 1/2-game lead over Miami for the NLs second wild-card spot.However, the Cardinals play their next six games at home, where they are only 28-33 this year. That might provide a glimmer of hope for New York, which needs all the positives it can get at this point.At 62-62, the defending NL champs are 4 1/2 games behind St. Louis and need at least a series win, if not a sweep. They are coming off a series split in San Francisco, thanks to a 2-0 win on Sunday night.If youre going to win, your good players have to play good. We ride those guys, Mets manager Terry Collins said. Hopefully, this is the start of what we want to do.The series opener pits left-handers on the mound as the Cardinals trot out Jaime Garcia (10-8, 4.11 ERA) against Jonathon Niese (8-7, 5.30).Garcia has won his last three starts, although he was propped up by the offense in an 8-5 decision on Aug. 16 in Houston, allowing five runs in five-plus innings. His only outing against New York earlier this year resulted in a 3-1 loss on July 26 in the nightcap of a doubleheader.Niese has faced St. Louis three times this season while pitching for Pittsburgh, going 1-1 and allowing 13 runs off 24 hits in 16 innings. He absorbed a 13-5 defeat Wednesday night at Arizona in his first start with the Mets.In an appealing matchup Wednesday night, the Cardinals Carlos Martinez (11-7, 3.24 ERA) faces Jacob deGrom (7-6, 2.73). Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.71) will pitch Thursday nights series finale for St. Louis against a starter to be determined, as Steven Matz will skip his turn after being diagnosed with a left shoulder strain on Monday. Kevin Durant Jersey .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Gary Payton Jersey . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. http://www.cheapthunderjerseyschina.com/steven-adams-jersey/ . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Detlef Schrempf Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Womens Thunder Jerseys . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason.Another Premier League season is about to start, so we asked Rod Studd to select five of his favourite matches from the competition. Gary Anderson starts the defence of his title on Thursday night in Leeds, live on Sky Sports 1 HD at 7pm, and world No 1 Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis are also part of a fiercely competitive 10-man line-up.Studd has witnessed plenty of Premier League drama over the years and looks back at some of his favourite moments... The biggest names in darts are preparing ahead of Thursdays Premier League. Are you ready? Phil Taylor 10-8 James Wade, 2010 Premier League final Taylor produced two nine-darters in his win over James Wade Probably the most famous Premier League match, for all manner of reasons. It was delayed for 24 hours because of a power cut at Wembley Arena. They had to play the next night and Stephen Fry joined Sid Waddell and Rod Harrington in the commentary box, and came out with his famous Im like a pig in Chardonnay statement. That was fantastic in itself to have Stephen with Sid, two great wordsmiths together. The final was just an incredible occasion. It was a brilliant match, even the nine-darters aside, as Taylor beat Wade 10-8 in a high-standard contest. We had never seen anything quite like it. There had been nine-darters before, but two in the same match was unparalleled. It had never happened and it has not happened since.First one, in the second leg of the match, Taylor took out 147 on double 18 and there was another one in the 15th leg, on a more conventional 141 out shot. But then in the next leg, Taylor very nearly hit a third nine-darter, and if he had, I think we all would have passed out. It was just a wonderful night and a real privilege to be there.Raymond van Barneveld 8-3 Peter Manley, Bournemouth 2006 Raymond van Barneveld completed the competitions very first nine-darter Barney had famously come across from the BDO to play in the PDC and would defeat Peter Manley 8-3 in Bournemouth. But this match was best known for Van Barnevelds nine-dart leg - the first ever in the Premier League. He was given a standing ovation and Peter Manley was at the back of the stage applauding him, because nine-dart finishes were just not as common then as they are now. It was a wonderful moment for Barney and afterwards I remember him saying that he had two dreams left in darts. One was to hit a nine-dart finish live on the television and the other was to win the PDC World Darts Championship. As he said then, he had achieved one of them and less than a year later he went on to achieve the second when he beat Phil Taylor at the Circus Tavern. Premier League legends Deadline Day has passed but our boys are stilll here! Peter Manley 8-3 Phil Taylor, Coventry 2008 Peter Manley inflicted a shock defeat on Taylor Phil Taylor was having one of those periods when he was struggling a bit.dddddddddddd He had lost his first ever game in the Premier League to James Wade, ending his 44-match unbeaten run in the tournament. But not many people thought he would lose to Peter Manley, who he annihilated in two World Championship finals. Manley had played him six times in the Premier League prior to that and lost every single one of them, so when they turned up in Coventry this was a chance for Taylor to get back on track. Well Manley had other ideas, he averaged 102, beat Taylor 8-3 and finished the match off with a 121 checkout. But what most people remember from the match is not just Manleys performance but very famously at the end of matches Phil takes the dart board off the wall and gets everyone to sign it, including the man he has just beaten. I think Manley, who had been on the wrong end of umpteen hidings since then, had enough of all that and cheekily removed the board before asking if Taylor wouldnt mind signing it for him.Taylor actually cited that as the moment he realised he better sort himself out, because he did not want to be humiliated like that again. It was the catalyst for Taylor to turn around his form once more and he went on to win the Premier League again. Michael van Gerwen 7-0 James Wade Cardiff 2015 Michael van Gerwen produced a sensational whitewash win over James Wade This was the most comprehensive and breathtaking performance that we had seen in the history of the Premier League. Michael van Gerwen averaged almost 117, hit five 180s, took out seven of nine on the doubles and finished off with back-to-back legs of 154 and 130 checkouts.But the most amazing thing about it all was that in those seven legs, James Wade did not have a solitary dart at a double at all in the match. To not allow a top-class professional player like Wade, a multiple major champion, even one shot at a double in seven legs of darts is just jaw-dropping.It will live long in the memory of anyone who was in Cardiff or watching on Sky Sports. I dont think well ever see as perfect a performance in a darts match ever again, because seven legs like that is frankly unbelievable.Michael van Gerwen 7-0 Phil Taylor, Liverpool 2014 MVG had also inflicted a humbling rout on Taylor a year earlier Again, this was a completely stunning evening of action. Never, ever, would anybody who was at the Echo Arena or watching on television, expect to see Phil Taylor whitewashed in any darts match of any length. It was the most humbling evening of the great mans career without a doubt.Michael van Gerwen came in as the world champion, while Phil Taylor had suffered defeat to Michael Smith at the World Championship, so he was perhaps not at maximum confidence and had also changed his darts. But for him to be blown away in 13 minutes flat by the newly crowned champion was simply staggering.At 6-0, Taylor had two darts at a double. One at double 20 and one at double ten and he missed both of them. After he missed them, it suddenly dawned on you that Phil Taylor was about to be whitewashed in a darts match and still now, a couple of years on, that match resonates with everybody. After two decades of darting dominance, to witness Michael van Gerwen whitewashing the great man was a night I will never forget. Also See: Sky Bets darts odds On Sky TV Schedule/Results Features Get Sky Sports ' ' '