Cardinals second baseman, Fernando Vina, hit his first home run of the year with a grand slam, as the Cards beat the Pirates 7-3 yesterday. St. Louis also got homers from Jim Edmonds, who hit his 12th, and Albert Pujols, who hit his ninth. Rookie Jason Simontacchi went 7 and 1/3, improving to 3-0. The Cards are now just one game out of first place in the N.L. Central. The face the Astros this afternoon in Houston.