Eric Byrnes is showing signs of breaking out of his season-long slump.
Byrnes has nine hits in his last 16 at-bats over the last four games to raise his batting average to .194 after his first three-hit game of the season Monday. He had two singles and a double Monday and has three doubles, a home run and a stolen base during his streak. "He's been a nice spark," D-backs manager A.J. Hinch said.
"Nobody prepares more than he does. He puts a lot of time and a lot of energy into how he plays. When he plays with that style and is flying around the bases, hitting the ball hard and hitting the ball in the gap, he's infectious. To see him respond this weekend was good."
Byrnes had a two-run homer Sunday, his first since April 25, and drove in a season-high three runs. He entered the weekend series against Washington hitless in his last 17 at-bats and with one hit in his last 31 at-bats.
As the D-backs struggle in the early going, Byrnes has been overly aggressive at times, however. He was thrown out attempting to steal third with one out in the eighth inning with the D-backs trailing by one run in the eighth inning of a 5-4 loss to Washington on Friday. He was thrown out easily while attempting to stretch a looping single down the right-field line into a double Monday.
Byrnes, the 11th player in major league history with 20 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season (in 2007), has been over .200 twice this season, peaking at .214 on April 25 after back-to-back two-hit games.
REDS 13, DIAMONDBACKS 5: RHP Jon Garland gave up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings in his first defeat since April 15, and the bullpen got so thin that SS Josh Wilson pitched a scoreless ninth inning. OF Justin Upton extended his career-high hitting streak to 18 games with a two-run home run in the third inning to cut the Reds' lead to 4-2, but Garland gave up three runs in the fourth and RHP Bobby Korecky gave up six in his two innings. 3B Mark Reynolds hit his eighth homer.
