MET NOTES

PORT ST. LUCIE – Tyler Yates entered last night in relief of Al Leiter. Third man up? Albert Pujols.

“I was just like, I’m giving him my very best and I hope he gives me his best,” Yates said of the Cards slugger who’s one of the game’s best hitters, “so I know where I rank.”

If that’s the case, rank Yates up there pretty darn high. With one out and a runner on first in the third inning of the Mets’ 10-6 win, Yates, the 26-year-old righthander vying for the Mets’ fifth-starter spot, worked a 2-2 count on Pujols. Then he threw a sinker in.

Then Pujols’ bat broke.

Yates ended up getting Pujols to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. The pitcher then served up an unearned run in the fourth, but that was it. Yates was impressive, starting with his opening-batter strikeout of Bo Hart on three pitches.

Yates isn’t sure where this effort, his first of the spring, puts him in the fifth-starter derby, especially with Grant Roberts and Aaron Heilman having also performed well.

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Mets pounded out all 10 of their runs in the first two innings last night, scoring four in the first and six in the second. Highlights included Ty Wigginton’s three-run double, Jose Reyes’ two-run triple and Todd Zeile’s two-run single. Leiter pitched two scoreless innings.

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Mike Piazza was back in the lineup, three days after suffering a mild strain to his left thigh. Piazza said the area was “still a little sore.” But he caught and had two RBIs.