WIN IS A CHOI TO WATCH HIS 3-RUN HOMER LEADS DODGERS' COMEBACK DODGERS 9, ST. LOUIS 8.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

ST. LOUIS - He is quite possibly the most maligned man in the Dodgers' clubhouse, a favorite target of fans, the media and - at various times and in the subtlest of ways - his own manager. But for all the criticism he took and all the colossal failures he endured at the plate, Hee-Seop Choi never stopped smiling and, more importantly, never stopped working.

Finally, at least to some extent, he is being rewarded.

The hulking first baseman delivered his biggest hit of the season in Tuesday night's sixth inning, a three-run home run off hopelessly inept St. Louis reliever Kevin Jarvis. The blast capped a six-run outburst and started the Dodgers on their way to a 9-8 beating of the Cardinals in front of 38,984 at Busch Stadium.

The homer was part of a 2-for-4 performance by Choi, who had a magnificent, eight-pitch at-bat in the first inning before singling in Cesar Izturis to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Choi's four RBI tied the career high he set with his April 29 grand slam against Colorado.

In typical fashion, he also struck out twice and drew a walk.

``It's great to see,'' Dodgers hitting coach Tim Wallach said. ``I think confidence is a big part of it. He has been more aggressive in the strike zone. He still has a good knowledge of the strike zone, but he's more aggressive when he gets pitches in the zone. He's staying inside the ball better, and he's not coming off balls as much as he did in the past.''

Choi has hit .400 (14 for 35) his past dozen games, raising his once-moribund average to a solid .280. Alas, only 10 of his 94 plate appearances have come against left-handed pitching, including his eighth-inning strikeout against Ray King after a prolonged, well-executed at-bat. Moreover, manager Jim Tracy effectively refuses to start Choi against lefties, a fact he made crystal clear in his only postgame comment about the player.

``He's doing very well against right-handed pitchers,'' Tracy said. ``He's doing exceptionally well against right-handers.''

Choi is 1 for 7 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch against lefties this year.

The Dodgers (20-12), who maintained a two-game lead over Arizona atop the National League West, will take wins any way they can get them. They got this one on the strength of Choi's homer, four-plus solid innings by the bullpen, a critical two-run single by Cesar Izturis with two outs in the sixth and a walk by light-hitting role player Jason Grabowski on which that decisive rally in the sixth inning was built.

The Dodgers, who led 3-0 after the top of the fourth, had fallen behind 7-3 in the bottom of the fifth on Reggie Sanders' second home run of the game, a three-run blast to left off struggling fifth starter Scott Erickson. Mark Grudzielanek doubled to knock out Erickson, and Wilson Alvarez (1-0) got Einar Diaz to pop up, finally ending the inning.

Jeff Kent led off the sixth with a home run, and Milton Bradley chased Cardinals starter Matt Morris with a single. Jarvis (0-1) then hit Ricky Ledee and, after recording two flyball outs, walked Grabowski on five pitches.

Grabowski came in batting .138, with eight strikeouts in 29 at-bats. But his well-timed walk kept the inning alive for Izturis, who lined a single into left-center to make it 7-6. Choi then made it 9-7 with a drive just beyond the wall in dead center. Yhency Brazoban, the sixth Dodgers reliever, pitched a one-hit ninth for his 10th save in the absence of injured Eric Gagne.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 6 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Cesar Izturis, left, greets Hee-Seop Choi after the first baseman's three-run homer gave the Dodgers a 9-7, sixth-inning lead.

(2) Dodgers starter Scott Erickson surrenders three homers, including a fourth-inning blast by Scott Rolen, in 4 2/3 innings.

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

Box:

(1) DODGERS at ST. LOUIS

- Tony Jackson

(2) YOU WIN SOME, YOU WIN SOME MORE

(3) STORY LINES

(4) GAME RECAP

(5) HOW THE RUNS SCORED

(6) ALMANAC