Notes: Situational hitting rubs off

SAN DIEGO -- Power hasn't been a problem for the Diamondbacks this year.
When Luis Gonzalez homered off Jake Peavy on Tuesday night for his 20th round-tripper of the year, the Diamondbacks became the first National League team (and the second in the Majors) this year to feature five players with 20 or more home runs.
Gonzalez joined Troy Glaus, Tony Clark, Shawn Green and Chad Tracy as part of the 20-homer club and the fivesome are a big reason why the D-Backs are third in the NL in homers this year behind the Reds and Cubs.
"The one thing that has been fairly constant is the homers," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "We are up there in homers."
Despite the power, the Diamondbacks are eighth in the National League in runs scored. The culprit? Hitting with runners in scoring position. Collectively, they have a .241 mark in those situations.
"I think we need to do a better job of executing and manufacturing [runs] sometimes," said Glaus, who leads the team with 30 homers. "We can't sit back and rely on home runs all the time. There's a track record of that not working. The homers are nice, but we have to be able to scratch and claw and get one or two here and there. That's the difference between teams that win and teams that don't."
Glaus knows the value of moving runners over, getting runners from third base with less two outs home. The 2002 world champion Angels that he played on were known for their situational hitting.
"We hit our fair share of homers," Glaus said of the '02 Halos. "But we also scratched and clawed and got a run or two when we needed."
The Diamondbacks have played better the last four or five games, and it's no coincidence that their situational hitting has been better over that period.
"It just seems like our approach has been better as of late," Melvin said. "Sometimes when you struggle with it, you try too hard. It's not for a lack of knowing what the situation is, it's not for a lack of knowing and wanting to succeed. Sometimes we just try too hard and press because the results haven't been there."
Speaking of Glaus: The third baseman entered Wednesday's game having homered in three straight contests and four of his last five. Over his last 19 games, he's hitting .344.
So is he feeling particularly good at the plate?
"Every day is different," Glaus said. "I think as a group we've been playing pretty well over the last five or six days. We're giving ourselves a chance to win."
Patience: Rookie Conor Jackson was 0-for-2 on Tuesday night, but he did draw a walk. Despite a recent 0-for-20 streak, Jackson has still shown a good approach at the plate.
"He's going to have a nice big-league career because not only does he have good hand-eye [coordination] and good mechanics, he's got the right approach at an early age," Melvin said of the 23-year-old.
Up next: After an off-day on Thursday, the Diamondbacks will return home for a short three-game weekend series against the Giants.
Brandon Webb will start for the D-Backs on Friday. The right-hander threw seven shutout innings in his last start against the Phillies on Saturday.

Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/