St. Louis ? The last two weeks of the regular season were agonizing for Jim Edmonds, robbed of enthusiasm once the St. Louis Cardinals clinched the NL Central.

One of the team’s trio of MVP candidates, his average dipped to .301 after a finishing 1-for-29 slump. Edmonds is happy to be playing games that count again after contributing to a record five-homer barrage in Game 1 of the NL division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“It’s nice when you have a lot of energy in the stadium,” Edmonds said Wednesday. “This is what it’s all about.”

Edmonds thinks it no coincidence that in Game 1 the Cardinals looked like the team that led the majors with 105 victories, and not the one that ended the season with an 8-7 dip after clinching the Central. They’ll try to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series tonight, with Jason Marquis (15-7) opposing Jeff Weaver (13-13).

“Obviously, it’s more fun when you’re playing with something on the line,” Edmonds said.

It’s not nearly as much fun for the Dodgers, who’ll be trying to rebound from an 8-3 loss. The five-homer game, including two by Larry Walker and one each by Edmonds, Albert Pujols and Mike Matheny, tied a major-league postseason record.

Marquis is one of pitching coach Dave Duncan’s greatest success stories, going from zero victories in the major leagues last year with Atlanta to being one of the better young pitchers after coming in a trade that sent J.D. Drew to the Braves. The biggest reason the Cardinals are using him instead of more experienced Matt Morris or Jeff Suppan in Game 2 is because he has been at his best on four days’ rest.

Overall, Marquis had a 4.16 ERA. But pitching every fifth day he was 8-3 with a 2.46 ERA.

“It was one of the factors why he pitches, because he was the only guy you could really guarantee goes on four days’ rest,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. “It’s something we paid attention to.”

Marquis struggled in his last start, giving up three runs in 42/3 innings on Saturday in a loss to the Brewers. But that outing came on five days’ rest and could be more of a factor than his first career 200-inning season.

“Every time I go out there and grab the ball, I expect to pitch well,” Marquis said. “But if the numbers show that, you might as well play the percentages.”

Weaver was the Dodgers’ most consistent starter, making a career-high 34 starts and ranking among the league leaders with 220 innings.