St. Louis outfielder Lars Nootbaar made an immediate impact in his return from the 60-day injured list with two hits and an RBI in the Cardinals' 10-3 win over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
Nootbaar, 28, had surgery on both of his heels in the offseason and had not played in the majors this season. Batting leadoff, he singled in his first at-bat. His RBI double started a six-run sixth.
He is a career .242 hitter. Last season in 135 games, he hit .234 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs.
In 12 games in his 20-day rehab assignment, Nootbaar hit three home runs and had a .257 batting average, .409 on-base percentage and .543 slugging percentage in 44 at-bats. He drew nine walks and struck out six times. In his last rehab game for Triple-A Memphis, Nootbaar hit a solo home run Wednesday and finished 2-for-5 with a walk, four RBIs and two runs scored in an 18-4 victory over Louisville.
In other moves, the Cardinals optioned infielder Thomas Saggese to Triple A-Memphis and recalled right-handed pitcher Matt Svanson from Memphis.
St. Louis also placed reliever Ryan Fernandez on the 15-day injured list for low back pain. The move is retroactive to Tuesday.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.