St. Louis ? For a pitcher with 150 career victories, Andy Benes certainly feels like a kid.

When the St. Louis Cardinals’ right-hander starts against the Colorado Rockies today, it will be his first appearance since Aug. 30 of last season. He was an unused, spare part down the stretch during St. Louis’ playoff drive due to a knee injury that dragged his numbers down.

Now, Benes is back in the rotation.

“I kind of look at it as kind of a new beginning,” he said Wednesday.

The 34-year-old Benes beat out no-hit rookie Bud Smith for a spot in the rotation with a strong spring, going 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in six games, including three starts.

Those numbers are a lot more impressive than last year, when Benes entered the season as the No. 3 starter and finished prematurely with a 7.38 ERA and allowed a whopping 30 home runs in 107 innings.

In his final three innings, Benes gave up six runs  three on homers.

“I think it was really tough on him,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s had a really good career, and everything he was really proud of was taken away from him.”

In spring training, Benes got back to form, giving up two homers in 23 innings.

The problem was a surgically repaired right knee that still ached and hindered him from using all his pitches.