Rick Ankiel made a triumphant return to the major leagues in a new position on Thursday night, homering for the St. Louis Cardinals.

After going 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, the former pitcher took a pitch from San Diego Padre Doug Brocail over the right-field fence in the seventh inning.

Rick Ankiel (middle) is swarmed by his St. Louis teammates after his home run.
(Tom Gannam/Associated Press)

The right-fielder's three-run blast in his first major league action in over three years gave the Cardinals their final runs in a 5-0 win.

"I set a goal for myself to get back here, so I feel good that I reached it," Ankiel said. "I'm looking forward to reaching my next goal, which is staying here."

Ankiel, 28, last appeared in the majors in 2004 as a pitcher, the position where he first earned success.

He won 11 games and struck out 194 as a rookie in the 2000 season, but came unglued in the playoffs, uncorking nine wild pitches in four innings of work.

Subsequent attempts to stick with the Cardinals as a pitcher were hampered by injuries and continued mental blocks in finding the strike zone.

He decided during spring training in 2005 to switch to the outfield.

Ankiel was greeted with a standing ovation at Busch Stadium before his first at bat on Thursday, and took a curtain call after hitting the homer, the third of his career.

Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa said Ankiel would get more opportunities in the coming days.

"We need to see Rick here and really assess how major-league ready he is," La Russa said. "It's going to cost somebody playing time."

Ankiel was hitting .267 with 32 homers and 89 RBIs in 102 games at triple-A Memphis before being recalled by St. Louis. He also struck out 90 times and had a .314 on-base percentage.

With files from the Associated Press