"Although it may appear so, Ryan Braun still isn't completely recovered from the left upper calf/lower hamstring injury he's been battling for more than a month.

Because of that, he was held out of the lineup for Thursday's series finale between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Mark Kotsay took Braun's spot both in the No.?3 spot in the lineup and in left field.

"I'm good. Just a day off," Braun said. "We talked about it last night. It's still kind of part of our plan with this hamstring thing to just try to stay as close as possible to 100 percent."

With regard to the timing - the Brewers eyeing a possible sweep of the St. Louis St. Cardinals, and the potential of moving six games up in the National League Central standings - Braun said the focus remains on the bigger picture.

Specifically, keeping him healthy the rest of the way.

"The goal is to be as close to 100 percent for as many games as possible," he said. "If taking one game now allows us to do that, then I think it's in my best interest and the team's best interest."

Braun entered Thursday 1 for 9 in the series (.111) and 6 for 23 (.261) with one run batted in on the road trip. He was 4 for 18 (.222) with a home run and two RBI against Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter."