METS 4, CARDINALS 3
in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Thursday, March 1

Cardinals at the plate: Scott Rolen, who has a .493 career on-base percentage against Tom Glavine, was the only Cardinals batter to reach base against the left-hander; he was hit by a pitch. Chris Duncan and Scott Spiezio hit solo home runs against Jorge Sosa in the fourth, and Edgar Gonzalez hit one against Eddie Camacho.

Mets at the plate: The Mets, a first-inning team in 2006, scored twice in the opening frame against Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter on a bloop double by No. 2 hitter David Wright, a triple by Carlos Beltran and a sacrifice fly by Carlos Delgado. Jose Reyes pulled a home run to right against Mike Parisi in the sixth. The Mets scored their fourth run with two outs in the seventh on a single to left by Anderson Hernandez.

Cardinals on the mound: Carpenter pitched three innings total, allowing no additional baserunners after the first.

Mets on the mound: Glavine, using a slow curve more often, pitched two scoreless innings. Sosa, who allowed 30 home runs in merely 118 innings with the Cardinals and Braves last season, allowed two in two innings.

Grapefruit League records: Cardinals 1-1; Mets 1-1

Up next: The Mets make a return visit and play the Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla., on Friday afternoon at 1:05 ET, with Chan Ho Park, Aaron Sele, Scott Schoeneweis and non-roster invitee Joe Smith scheduled to pitch. The Cardinals' starter -- yes, starter -- is to be Braden Looper, the Mets' closer in '05.