Costly win

Rolen hurt in collision, may be out for playoffs

Scott Rolen collides with Arizona's Alex Cintron during the seventh inning. AP

PHOENIX (AP) -- The St. Louis Cardinals might have lost third baseman Scott Rolen for the remainder of the playoffs with an injured left shoulder.

Rolen, whose acquisition in a trade from Philadelphia added even more power to a strong Cardinals lineup, injured his left shoulder when he was clipped by pinch-runner Alex Cintron in the seventh inning of Thursday's 2-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.

The initial diagnosis was a sprained shoulder, but further tests were planned in St. Louis on Friday.

"I do think that his continuing to play for sure in this series is very questionable," manager Tony La Russa said. "We'll hold our fingers crossed through tomorrow. I think there's a chance he might have played his last game (this year.)"

Cardinals trainer Barry Weinberg was more cautious.

"Tomorrow we'll examine him to determine the extent of the sprain," Weinberg said. "Right now it's day to day. I don't want to make any hypothetical comments. It's a sprain of the joint. We'll just have to wait and see what the scan shows. It doesn't look like he separated it."

Rolen wasn't sure how serious the injury was.

"They will check out the joint tomorrow to see if there's any displacement," he said. "It's a sprain on the outside joint. I have very little range of motion."

Rolen is playing in the postseason for the first time.

"I'm sick to my stomach about Scott," La Russa said. "It's not that he is just a good player, but he's really excited about the postseason. He played at such a high level. You know, the news is probably not too good."

With runners on first and second and two outs, Junior Spivey hit a grounder to Rolen. The count was 3-2, and Cintron was running from second on contact.

"It was a slow roller," Rolen said. "I was coming in and Cintron and I got tangled in the middle of the base path. I saw him coming out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn't do anything about it."

Cintron said he was running so hard he couldn't avoid the collision.

"The ball, myself and Rolen came together," he said. "I didn't see Rolen come charging the ball. I've got to run. He's got to charge the ball. When you're running and it's 3-2, your mind is like `You've got to go."'

Rolen has no hard feelings.

"It was just one of those things that happen," he said. "He made an aggressive play. That's what you're supposed to do. That's the way you play the game."

 

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