Kenley Jansen had waited 11 days for this moment, slogging through an excruciating stint on the disabled list because of a heart issue while his fellow relievers stumbled without him. His much-heralded return on Monday night was not what he or the Dodgers envisioned.
The closer took over in the ninth inning of a tie game and gave up home runs to the first two batters he faced, Jed Gyorko driving a shot to left-center and Matt Carpenter hitting his National League-leading 34th homer to center to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-3 victory before 42,404 in Dodger Stadium.