The return of Rick Ankiel to the lineup coincided with the best stretch of play by the Cardinals in 2007. St. Louis won five in a row and eight out of ten against L.A., San Diego and Milwaukee, advancing to two games under .500 and 2½ games behind the Brewers. Continued strong starting pitching and hot hitting from Pujols, rookie infielder Brendan Ryan, and others propelled the Cardinals to the .500 mark on August 28, the first time since they were 6–6 on April 16 that they did not have a losing record.