On Wednesday Albert Pujols hit a late-inning home run to give the Cardinals a win. On Thursday it was Scott Rolen’s turn. Rolen snapped a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a solo blast—his 26th—off Luis Ayala and the Cardinals went on to beat the Expos 2-1. Jason Isringhausen worked around a base hit in the top of the ninth to get his 28th save of the season. In the sixth inning, Jim Edmonds hit his 30th homer of the year to tie the game. Chris Carpenter gave up a run off four hits and a walk and seven strikeouts to win his 12th game of the season. The Cardinals took two-of-three from the Expos and remain 9 1/2 games in front of the Cubs in the National League Central.
