In the ninth inning of a one-run game on July 31 in North Little Rock, Ark., Chris Swauger was trying to break up a double play when his thumb got caught on second base. The top of his finger snapped, then fractured, costing him more than three weeks of playing time.

"It was painful the first couple games back -- my first game back was [Aug.] 25th," said Swauger, who did disrupt that DP a month ago as Double-A Springfield went on to win in 10 innings. "I'm just trying to get back to where I was at midseason."

Or better.

Swauger drove in six runs Sunday to lead the Cardinals to a 10-1 drubbing of those same Travelers.

The win was Springfield's franchise-best 77th of the season. The club already has wrapped up the Texas League North Division second-half title and begins postseason play on Wednesday.

"It's cliched and hackneyed, but I don't worry about the results and just trust the process," Swauger said. "But, yeah, it's absolutely awesome. I know it's a good game."

Batting fifth, the left-handed hitter smacked an RBI single in the first inning, another single in the fifth and a three-run double in the sixth. He also lifted sacrifice flies in the fourth and eighth, making all five of his plate appearances productive ones.

What was the key to his success?

"The guys in front of me. Every time I came to the plate, I had guys on base," he said. "RBIs, you like to take credit for 'em, but it's more up to the guys around you. I was the beneficiary of some good [team] hitting."

Swauger had more trouble deflecting credit when describing his bases-clearing two-bagger in the sixth against lefty reliever Buddy Boshers.

"Boshers has had success against me. He's a tough lefty. I just went up there looking for the middle of plate," Swauger said of the eight-pitch battle. "He's got too good of stuff to [try to] hit both of his pitches... I got to a 3-2 count and was gambling that there'd be a fastball. His slider is too good to sit on."

The six RBIs matched Swauger's career high, which he achieved for the first time on July 9 at Midland. That was the first highlight of his up-and-down 2012: Swauger began the season at Triple-A Memphis but, after batting .222 in 18 games, was demoted on May 3. He found his stroke in Springfield before his well-meaning maneuver on the basepaths resulted in a bum thumb.

Cards starter Scott Gorgen (5-7), making his first appearance back at Springfield after four turns in the Triple-A rotation, gave up one run on two hits over five innings. The 25-year-old right-hander struck out eight.

"Scott is a guy with four or five pitches that he can throw at any point in the count," Swauger said. "It looked to me like he was confident with every one. He has the ability to roll through a lineup like that two or three times."

Arkansas' Jarrett Grube (3-3) was charged with five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits over five frames.