--RF Justin Upton (left shoulder irritation) was held out of the starting lineup Tuesday. He felt soreness after taking an awkward swing while striking out in the seventh inning Monday and was immediately replaced. "It was a weird swing. Just late, and I was trying to catch up," Upton said. "It's an injury that I've had in the past. It happens every once in a while."

--1B Adam LaRoche missed his second consecutive start Tuesday. He felt tightness in his right leg while legging out a double in the seventh inning Sunday at San Francisco. LaRoche had nine homers in August, a career high for a month. He has tied the D-backs' franchise record for RBI by a first baseman, 87, which was set by Tony Clark in 2005, and is on pace for 107.

--RHP Kris Benson (right shoulder strain) hit a bump in the road on his rehab and has gone home for the season. His latest rehab assignment lasted two starts, July 30 and Aug. 4, in which he allowed two runs in a combined six innings. Benson made three starts in April for the Diamondbacks before landing on the disabled list. He went 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA. His contract expires after this season, so he will become a free agent.

--3B Mark Reynolds homered to right field on a fastball in the first inning and homered to left on a changeup in the third Monday while tying a career high with five RBI, the third time he has done it, two coming against San Diego. "That was lucky," Reynolds said of his homer to right. "It was up and away and I tried to get on top of it. Put a good swing on it." He surpassed 30 homers for the second straight season and has 103 homers since the start of 2008.

--LHP Joe Saunders made a quick turnaround, holding San Diego to two runs over eight innings in a 7-2 victory at Chase Field on Monday after giving up nine runs (six earned) in a 9-3 loss to the Padres at Petco Park on Wednesday. "Pretty neat. It's a little redemption," said Saunders, who broke a four-game losing streak and used only 101 pitches in eight innings.

--SS Stephen Drew had a single and a double Monday and now has 16 hits in his last 33 at-bats, including six doubles and four home runs. He has a seven-game hitting streak, and with 12 homers this season has equaled his output from 2009.

--Class A Visalia 1B Paul Goldschmidt was named the California League MVP. Goldschmidt, an eighth-round draft choice out of Texas State in 2009, was hitting .305 with 38 doubles, 33 homers and 99 RBI through games of Sunday. He was tied for the minor league lead in homers and led the Cal League in doubles, total bases (295) and OPS (.967) with a week remaining in the regular season. D-backs farm director Mike Berger has compared Goldschmidt favorably to former major leaguer Steve Balboni.

BY THE NUMBERS
3 -- Splash-down home runs by 1B Adam LaRoche after consecutive homers into McCovey Cove on Friday and Saturday, tying Carlos Delgado for the most splash-downs by a Giants' opponent.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I've been pulling off a lot of pitches. When you get hit in the head, it's tough sometimes to stand in there against the heater. I'm just trying to be consistent." -- 3B Mark Reynolds, who was hit in the batting helmet in the sixth inning Aug. 3 against Washington.

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