St. Louis ? A routine eye exam has made all the difference for Eduardo Perez.

Perez, Jim Edmonds and Tino Martinez all homered, powering the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-4 victory Friday night over the Chicago Cubs.

St. Louis' Edgar Renteria drives a single for his 999th career hit in the fourth inning. Two innings later, Renteria collected hit No. 1,000 in the Cardinals' 8-4 rout of Chicago on Friday in St. Louis.

Chuck Finley, acquired last Friday in a trade with Cleveland, won in his Busch Stadium debut before the largest crowd of the season at 48,730. Edgar Renteria got two hits to reach 1,000 in his career.

Perez delivered the night’s biggest blow, a three-run, pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning to give St. Louis an 8-3 lead.

Tired of wearing hard contacts, Perez had lasik surgery in Puerto Rico last winter and hit well in spring training. But he began to fade once the season started.

Finally, he went to his eye doctor in St. Louis.

“I found out my vision had went to 20-35 and 20-30 and while that’s fine for people, it’s not so good for a ballplayer,” Perez said. “I found you can have setbacks with the surgery. It’s not like hearing. It was the best I could see.

“So, I went in for an exam and I was embarrassed to tell him I was hitting .130. I got some soft contacts and now I can see the rotation of the ball. I’m so glad I got that exam.”

Perez was one of many heroes for the Cardinals, who had 13 hits.

“We were a good looking baseball team today, the way we played,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.

Finley (2-0) gave up three runs and five hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking none.

After allowing a leadoff home run to Mark Bellhorn, Finley blanked the Cubs until Chris Stynes hit a two-run homer with two outs in the sixth that cut the St. Louis lead to 5-3. At one point, Finley retired 11 consecutive hitters in his 195th career win.

Mets 3, Reds 2

New York Mo Vaughn singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give New York a win over Cincinnati. The win gave the Mets and the Reds identical 53-49 records as they chase the NL’s wild card spot.

Phillies 3, Braves 2

Atlanta Gary Sheffield grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game, and Philadelphia held off Atlanta. The Phillies, playing a night game for the first time in a week, won their fourth straight. It’s their longest streak since June 7-10, when they also won four in a row during interleague play.

Astros 4, Pirates 3

Houston Julio Lugo hit a game-winning single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to bail out Houston closer Billy Wagner. After Wagner (3-2) allowed a game-tying homer to Aramis Ramirez in the ninth, the Astros won it in the bottom half to reach .500 for the first time since May 18.

Expos 6, Marlins 5 (10)

Montreal Jose Vidro hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting Montreal over Florida. After right fielder Vladimir Guerrero threw out Tim Raines at the plate to end the top of the 10th, Vidro won it with his 11th homer.

Brewers 10, Rockies 3

Milwaukee Mark Loretta hit his career first grand slam and Ben Sheets won for the second time in 15 starts as Milwaukee beat Colorado.

D’Backs 12, Padres 0

Phoenix Randy Johnson returned to form against San Diego, pitching four-hit ball for seven innings as Arizona claimed its fifth straight win.

Dodgers 11, Giants 6

San Francisco Tyler Houston went 4-for-4 and drove in four runs in his Dodgers debut. Houston, acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, hit a two-run triple in the first inning.