Vaughn finds his mark; Mets overcome Cardinals

JUPITER, Fla. -- Mo Vaughn hit a two-run homer and Jay Bell went 3-for-3 with two RBIs as the New York Mets beat the Cardinals 7-3 Friday.

Winning pitcher Al Leiter threw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks.

Albert Pujols homered for the Cardinals.

Vaughn, hoping to rebound from a disappointing season, connected against Brett Tomko in the first inning. The ball landed on top of the roof of the Cardinals' two-story clubhouse in right field more than 400 feet away.

Tomko, penciled in as the Cardinals' No. 3 starter, gave up three hits in two innings.

"Other than that one pitch, Tomko did OK," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "He just got a little too aggressive with a fastball. He had room to work and tried to blow it past Mo."

Bell, competing with Ty Wigginton for the everyday third base job, was impressive in his first start of the spring as the Mets pounded out 13 hits against seven Cardinals pitchers.

Wigginton homered and hit an RBI single Thursday.

Cardinals second baseman Fernando Vina left in the fourth inning after being upended by Timo Perez on a steal. Perez slid under a high throw and when Vina landed, the back of his head hit the ground hard.

"I was dazed for a little while, but I'm OK now," Vina said.

So Taguchi had two hits, including an RBI double, for the Cardinals.

Noteworthy

Cardinals coach George Kissell arrived in camp after a cornea transplant. Kissell, in his 80s, has been in the St. Louis organization since 1940. He is the senior field coordinator for player development.

The Cardinals' spring training home opener drew 6,366, compared to a total of 5,606 for the Marlins' first two games at Roger Dean Stadium.

Matt Morris will start Saturday and Woody Williams on Sunday for St. Louis against the Marlins. Josh Beckett and Mark Redman go for Florida.

The Cardinals' season opener March 31 against Milwaukee is already sold out, and more than 2 million tickets have been sold for the regular season.