MILWAUKEE -- A day after he felt "dead," but still hit a home run, Jim Edmonds was back among the living on Thursday. Edmonds got the start in center field for the Cardinals after he was cleared by the team's medical staff.

His status had been in doubt due to pain in Edmonds' lower back and legs. However, he was examined upon arrival at Miller Park on Thursday morning, and manager Tony La Russa wrote Edmonds in the lineup.

"I thought he wouldn't be in there, but he's in there," La Russa said. "He was grilled about it and he's good to go. So he goes. He got scrutinized pretty carefully before he got the good-to-go. So I'm assuming he is good to go."

Edmonds said he felt discomfort as early as Wednesday morning, but played through it. The pain grew more intense as he played in Wednesday night's game. Still, he hit a home run before he was removed from the contest.

"I was dead last night," he said. "I was dead all day yesterday, actually. [Today] I'm all right."

Edmonds explained that the back and leg issues hinder him much more in the outfield and on the bases than at the plate.

Encarnacion improving: La Russa said that Juan Encarnacion could be back in the lineup sooner than expected. Encarnacion, who is dealing with bursitis in his left knee, might start a game over the weekend in Chicago. On Tuesday, La Russa said he expected Encarnacion to be unavailable throughout the Cards' current road trip.

Ankiel sits: Rick Ankiel was out of the starting lineup on Thursday for the first time since his promotion from Triple-A Memphis. In his place in right field was Ryan Ludwick.

La Russa pointed to opposing starter Dave Bush's reverse platoon split as a factor in the decision. Against the right-handed Bush, lefty batters are hitting .230 with a .292 on-base percentage and a .363 slugging percentage. Right-handers, on the other hand, are putting up a .338/.369/.557 line. The margin is roughly the difference between Juan Uribe and Hanley Ramirez.

"This guy has been wearing out left-handers, and right-handers hit him," La Russa said.

Still, if Edmonds had been unable to play, Ankiel likely would have started in center field, with Ludwick still in right.

Russell returns to Austin: Kyle Russell, the Cardinals' fourth-round pick in the 2007 Draft, elected to return to the University of Texas rather than signing with the Redbirds. Russell was a draft-eligible sophomore, so he had tremendous leverage, and he chose to use it spend another year with the Longhorns.

McCormick returns: Mark McCormick, once considered one of the top prospects in the Cardinals' system, made his first game appearance on Wednesday, pitching for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals. The right-hander tossed one perfect inning, striking out one batter. McCormick, a Baylor product, dealt with shoulder trouble for much of 2006 and had an operation after the season.

This date in Cardinals history: On Aug. 16, 2000, Darryl Kile pitched a complete game and Edgar Renteria hit a three-run homer as the Cardinals beat the Cubs, 5-1, at Wrigley Field. Kile allowed a run on six hits, striking out four and walking two. Thanks to Project Retrosheet for the information.

Baby 'Birds: Nick Stavinoha doubled and walked, but it was a quiet night for his teammates as Triple-A Memphis lost to Oklahoma, 4-0, on Wednesday. ... Juan Richardson reached base four times, on three singles and a walk, but Double-A Springfield lost to San Antonio, 6-4. ... Class A Palm Beach swept a doubleheader against Vero Beach, 7-1 and 5-4. Adam Ottavino walked six in the opener, but didn't allow an earned run. ... Class A Quad Cities was off on Wednesday.

Short-season Batavia had an off-day due to the New York-Penn League All-Star break. ... Pete Kozma, Mike Folli and Jonathan Edwards combined to reach base 10 times in the first three spots in the batting order for rookie-level Johnson City, which beat Greeneville, 7-3. ... Guillermo Toribio had three of his team's six hits, but also committed an error in the Gulf Coast League Cardinals' 4-1 loss to the GCL Marlins.

Edwards is the player of the day. The Johnson City right fielder had a huge day, going 3-for-4 with a homer, a double, a walk, two runs and four RBIs. Edwards, 19, is batting .249 with a .342 on-base percentage and a .414 slugging percentage in his second pro season. He was the Cardinals' 14th-round draft pick in 2006.

Coming up: The stakes don't get any smaller this weekend. Following Thursday afternoon's game, the Cardinals will board the buses and head south down I-94 to Chicago. Braden Looper will face Cubs lefty Rich Hill in the opener of a four-game series at Wrigley Field, and first pitch is set for Friday at 1:20 p.m. CT.