It was a bad day all around for the Cardinals. St. Louis blew a 7-3 lead en route to a 9-8 loss to the Dodgers. To make matters worse for the Cardinals, third baseman Scott Rolen was forced to leave the game in the fifth inning while colliding on the base path with Dodgers first baseman Hee Seop Choi. Rolen left with a sprained shoulder and his status will be more clear later today.It’s the same shoulder that kept Rolen injured in the 2002 playoffs, but the injury he suffered last night is unrelated.

Rolen helped to bolster the Cardinals early advantage with a two run homer in the fourth inning to cut L.A.’s lead to 3-2. Reggie Sanders hit a solo homer to tie it later in the inning.

In the fifth, St. Louis took the lead when Albert Pujols singled in Larry Walker. Sanders struck again with his second homer of the day and his ninth of the season. This time it was a three run blast and the Cards had a four-run lead.

The lead didn’t even last a half inning. In the top of the sixth, the Dodgers rallied for six runs off starter Matt Morris and reliever Mike Jarvis. Choi capped the rally with a three run homer.

Jarvis was stuck with the loss, his first of the season.