Midseason pickup Johnson is carrying D-backs
Chris Johnson said he just tries to keep it simple.
The last week or so, he has been simply amazing.
Johnson hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the Arizona Diamondbacks' 10-4 victory over Pittsburgh on Tuesday, breaking a tie at 4 with his three-run homer to right-center in the top of the eighth inning. He hit a two-run homer into the bullpen in left-center to cap the scoring in a three-run ninth.
"I've been confident with my swing all year," he said. "I've been working hard, keep my approach simple and hit it hard. If it goes over the fence, that's fine. If it doesn't, that's fine, too."
The ball has been going over the fence at a stunning rate. Johnson, who joined the D-backs on July 30 after being acquired in a trade with Houston the day before, has five homers and 15 RBI in his eight starts at third base, cementing a position that had been among the lowest in run production in the major leagues before he arrived.
Johnson, 27, has homered for the cycle since joining the D-backs. He hit a grand slam and a bases-empty shot in a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers last week and hit a two-run shot at Philadelphia on Saturday.
Johnson had eight home runs in 341 at-bats with Houston, all of the homers coming at home in Minute Maid Park. All five of his D-backs home runs have come on this 10-game road trip, which concludes with two more games at Pittsburgh.
"You said it -- I think he's comfortable in Arizona," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "It's a great start for us. He got a pitch out over the plate (in the eighth inning), and as you've seen, he is really strong."
Johnson's two-homer game was the second of his career, and the other one also was this year. He had two homers and a career-high six RBI in an 8-1 victory over the New York Mets in the first game of a doubleheader May 2.
