German_Force » Right when you walk in the building

PHOENIX — Arizona left fielder David Peralta reworked his swing in the offseason Tomas Tatar Jersey , moving his hands lower and closer to his body with an eye toward getting the ball into the air. It is taking off.

Peralta has 14 homers and 36 RBIs in 62 games, and he already has tied his career high in homers with more than half to season remaining. Along with Paul Goldschmidt, Peralta has helped the Diamondbacks (39-30) score a major league-high 99 runs in June after winning the first two games of a four-game series against the New York Mets.

Peralta had two hits to extend his hitting streak to seven games and scored a run in a 7-3 victory Friday. He had three homers in the first two games of the series, including his second career two-homer game Thursday.

Arizona will look to build on a 10-3 June when it sends left-hander Patrick Corbin to the mound to oppose Mets left-hander Steven Matz on Saturday. Matz, originally scheduled to start the series opener Thursday, was pushed back because of a blister issue.

The Mets are headed the other way. After opening the season 11-1, they have lost 12 of 13 to fall a season-low 10 games below .500 (28-38).

Peralta’s power improvement came as a result of discussions with hitting coaches Dave Magadan and Tim Laker and input from the Diamondbacks’ analytics department, which showed Peralta how often his hard-hit balls stayed on the ground.

“I made a little bit of change with my hands to try to elevate the fastball more,” said Peralta. “Why not put it in the air and see if it is going to better results? When I tried it in the beginning, it felt kind of weird.”

By the start of spring training, Peralta said he was feeling good with the new stroke. Either way, he was determined to stay the course.

“I put it in my mind that it didn’t matter if I got into a slump, I was just going to keep doing it because you have to trust the process,” he said.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo liked what he saw of the new approach in spring training.

“It’s allowing him to get the barrel to the ball more frequently,” Lovullo said. “He’s just a good hitter. He’s focused so much on being a complete hitter, using the whole field. Now he’s picking his spots to drive the ball.”

While the Diamondbacks’ offense is rolling, the Mets have scored three runs or fewer in 11 straight games, the first time that has happened since 1981. They have lost six of their last seven series Authentic Mike Cammalleri Jersey , splitting the other, and the best they can do in Arizona is another split after losing the first two games.

Dominic Smith, recalled at the start of the week, hit his first homer of the season Friday, which was the Mets’ 22nd homer in their last 20 games. Eighteen of those, including Smith’s, have come with the bases empty.

“We need to go out there and score some runs. That’s simply stated,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway told reporters.

“We haven’t scored a ton and I think our hitters will. I think we have to get everybody in the right spot to start doing that. When we start scoring runs, we are going to win because our pitching has been tremendous.”

Corbin is 6-2 with a season-high 3.10 ERA after giving up five runs (four earned) in a no-decision against Pittsburgh on Monday. He has given up 12 runs (11 earned) in his last three outings, including a season-high six in a loss to Cincinnati on May 30.

He did not figure in the decision while giving up two runs in the Mets’ 5-4 victory at Citi Field on May 19. Corbin had one of his best starts of 2017 against the Mets, giving up one run and four hits in eight innings on Aug. 22. He is 1-3 with a 4.75 ERA in eight career appearances against the Mets.

Corbin ranks fourth in the NL with a 1.00 WHIP, and his 110 strikeouts are third.

Matz, 2-4 with a 3.53 ERA in 12 starts, faced the Diamondbacks on May 19. He gave up four runs in four innings but did not receive a decision when the Mets rallied for a 5-4 walk-off victory in the last of the ninth inning. He has no decisions in two career starts against Arizona, although he has given six runs and four homers in 10 innings. He has never pitched at Chase Field.

When it comes to football, Saquon Barkley has a knack for doing what might sound impossible.

Whether it’s his freakish feats in the weight room, or his game-breaking plays during a three-year career at Penn State (during which he scored a school-record 53 touchdowns), the 6-foot Brandon Manning Jersey , 233-pounder earned another distinction when he was selected second overall by the Giants in the draft last month instead of a quarterback.

In a QB-driven league where an every-down back is an endangered species, Barkley was the highest running back drafted in more than a decade.

The next hurdle for the Bronx, New York, native? Tempering expectations that he’ll become the Giants’ hometown hero.

”I don’t see them,” Barkley said. ”I know a lot of people try and set expectations for me. No offense to you guys, but I set my own expectations.”

Which will start by using the same mentality he’s always had.

”I have to believe in myself, set goals for myself, set expectations for myself and continue to work for those goals every single day,” Barkley said. ”Just to continue to come in, be humble. I don’t want to be that guy that thinks he is a high draft pick and that he has it all. Nothing is given to you. Everything is earned. You have to have that mindset that you have to work every single day. Learn every single day. Be a student of the day, learn from the guys and the coaches. The Elis (Manning) and the Odells (Beckham Jr.) on the field and off the field. Just work. Hard work got me here.”

Like the highest running back taken since Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush in 2006, Barkley is more of a do-everything player than a conventional running back, returning kicks, including two for touchdowns last season, one of which was 98 yards.

Citing Ezekiel Elliott and Le’Veon Bell as examples, Barkley talked about how valuable versatile running backs can be.

”I am not a guy that just lines up in the back field and is going to bang his head, bang his head, bang his head Womens Luke Kuechly Jersey ,” he said. ”I am a guy that is willing to do anything for his team. Whether it be a kick returner or a punt returner, running down on kickoffs, lining up in the slot, running a dummy play or a fake play, whatever it takes. I want to be an athlete, not just a running back. Obviously, I play the running back position, but I want to be an all-around guy and an all-around player.”

While coach Pat Shurmer senses the Giants drafted a quick study, he knows Barkley has to dive into the playbook before he can truly assess that.

”He needs to be everything he thinks he can be and then we’ll worry about that (expectations) later,” Shurmer said, adding: ”I’m certainly high on Saquon . If you ask him, he’ll tell you he wants to learn what he’s doing and compete at a high level and regardless of what my expectations are for him.”

The expectation among fans and some in the media is that Barkley makes an immediate impact, which would result in a potent offense featuring wide receivers Beckham and Sterling Shepard and tight end Evan Engram, as long as 37-year-old Eli Manning can return to his two-time Super Bowl MVP form.

For now, Barkley, along with the other players at the Giants’ three-day rookie minicamp this weekend, will get the first taste of what NFL practices are like, and what it’s like to not only be an NFL player but a New York Giant.

”We’re going to put them through the paces for three days here and try and teach them O. J. Simpson Jersey ,” Shurmer said. ”I think what’s important is and I’ve talked to the staff, I’ve talked to our current players, we want to teach our rookies the right way from the very beginning – here is your iPad, here is your locker, here is where you need to be, here is how you need to dress, here are the fields, `please’ and `thank-you’ work, push in your chair. We want to really train these guys in the New York Giants’ way and I think it’s every facet of their life and then, certainly what is most obvious, football.”

A mentality to which the well-polished Barkley is looking forward.

”It is an honor to play for this franchise. Right when you walk in the building, you see the four Lombardi Trophies and you already know what the standard is for this team and this program,” Barkley said. ”I am just happy to be a part of it.”

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