OAKLAND -- Left fielder Marcell Ozuna’s five-week stay on the injured list came to an end Saturday. It was not a moment too soon for Ozuna, who was in the starting lineup Saturday against the A’s at the Oakland Coliseum.

“The hardest thing is to be patient,” Ozuna said. “But they told me I needed to wait or I might be out a lot longer.”

Ozuna was leading the team with 20 home runs and 62 RBIs in 78 games before going on the IL, and his RBI total is still the team’s best even after he missed the last 28 games. The Cardinals went 18-10 during that stretch and moved from third place, three games out, to holding a half-game lead over the Cubs heading into the series opener against Oakland.

“It was a little difficult to have to sit and watch,” Ozuna said. “But the way the team has been playing has been pretty cool to see. There’s been some movement, and it’s going to be exciting to go out there and what we can all do together.”

He took the roster spot of outfielder Tyler O'Neill, who missed Thursday’s game with a left wrist strain. O’Neill landed on the injured list retroactive to Aug. 1.

Ozuna, who suffered the injury diving back into the first base bag on a pickoff play on June 28, spent three games on an injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis and was 4-for-9 with six RBIs. Included was a three-hit game against Albuquerque on Thursday in which he homered, doubled and singled en route to five RBIs.

“It was about a week ago I could swing without feeling any pain,” Ozuna said. “And in that [Thursday] game, I really felt like the swing was right.”

Manager Mike Shildt said having Ozuna healthy and Paul Goldschmidt, the National League Player of the Month for July, swinging at the top of his game is something the Cardinals haven’t seen before.

“Those are two big, high-profile guys,” the manager said. “Those are guys [other teams] have to have a game plan for.”

O’Neill sidelined

O’Neill had spent seven weeks in the Minor Leagues after starting the season with the big club, and he rediscovered some of his power upon his return the last month after hitting only one homer from Opening Day through May 2.

“I’m sorry to see Tyler go on the injured list,” Shildt said.

It was in O’Neill’s final at-bat before the injury that he felt his left wrist go wonky on him. He and the Cardinals’ training crew tried to see whether the wrist would respond quickly, but it was deemed a brief IL stint would be for the best.

Shildt said he expects O’Neill to be ready to go on a rehab assignment before the 10 days are up.

O’Neill, sent to the Minors the first week of May with a .263/.282/.395 slash line, was recalled from Memphis on June 29 and had been hitting at a .286/.330/.451 clip that includes four of his season total of five homers over 25 games, 23 of them starts.

Carpenter ready for return?

There is an outside chance that third baseman Matt Carpenter, on the IL since taking a foul ball off his right foot July 15, could be activated for the series finale Sunday. Carpenter wasn’t in the lineup Saturday for Triple-A Memphis.