DENVER – After Geoff Blum landed on the disabled list for the second time this season, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson began joking about wanting to wrap his veteran infielder in pillows as a way of keeping him healthy.

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Blum laughs at the suggestion, but given that he has called this the most difficult season of his career, games like Monday’s, when he took advantage of a rare start to help his club win a game, must feel that much more rewarding.

“It feels great,” Blum said after he homered and drove in three runs in a 10-7 win over the Colorado Rockies. “I’m just happy to be still standing after this game.”

The victory, the Diamondbacks’ third in a row, came in a Labor Day afternoon game following what was a rousing series in San Francisco over the weekend, and as such Gibson was satisfied with his club’s effort, pleased there was no emotional letdown.

Behind seven innings from rookie left-hander Wade Miley, the Diamondbacks remain seven games up on the San Francisco Giants with 21 to play and their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to 15. They have a 98.4 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to simulations run by the site coolstandings.com.

And should they make the playoffs, Gibson said before Monday’s game, Blum is certain to be a member of the postseason roster. Signed in the off-season to provide veteran leadership and stability coming off the bench, he missed the season’s first three months following knee surgery only to return to action in July and break his right pinkie finger after having played just seven games.

He returned from the disabled list when rosters expanded Thursday and has contributed to the past two wins.

On Sunday in San Francisco, he worked an eighth-inning walk against reliever Jeremy Affeldt, setting the stage for Willie Bloomquist’s go-ahead hit.

And on Monday, in his sixth start of the season, he shot a fourth-inning single over shortstop to drive in two runs and in the sixth sparked the rally that drove Rockies right-hander Esmil Rogers from the game by leading off the inning with a solo home run. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt capped the five-run inning with a bases-clearing double to left field to give the Diamondbacks an 8-2 lead.

Expected before the season to be part of a platoon at third base, Blum’s injury opened the door for Ryan Roberts to play. Now, Blum is looking at more of a bench role, one that Gibson still sees as crucial.

“He’s got to play,” Gibson said. “He’s going to be big for us. I see him having a huge role in where we go. We’re going to get him out there, get him some at-bats, get him in the field. He’s a good player and has a lot of experience.”

Blum said it was nice to hear that Gibson still views him as a part of the equation.

“I like what those guys are doing on a daily basis and I want to be a part of it,” Blum said. “I’ve been itching for six or seven months now, it seems like. I’m more than ready to jump on these guys’ coattails and help them out.”

Diamondbacks rewind

No letdown: The Diamondbacks just finished their biggest series of the year, taking two of three from San Francisco, and had to play another day game – in high altitude, no less – after a night of travel, all of which were factors Kirk Gibson worried might contribute to a letdown.

But it didn’t happen.

“I think it’s nice that the guys in here are recognizing the importance of these games now and what it means to our division race and stuff like that,” infielder Geoff Blum said. “I think everybody’s responded good and had a good time doing it.”

Sloppy, but good enough: Gibson mentioned that his team played sloppily, running into three outs on the bases, but he was just glad to see the energy given the situation.

“When we run into outs on the bases, you kind of don’t want to say too much because they’re busting it,” Gibson said. “Maybe we’re not thinking it out as smart as we normally do but we kept coming, put a lot of pressure on them and scored enough runs to get the win.”

Miley wins again: Left-hander Wade Miley gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Dexter Fowler, another long ball in the third to Mark Ellis and pitched out of trouble in the second, fourth and fifth innings.

But Miley wound up going seven innings, retiring the final eight batters he faced, allowing runs only on the homers.

“He seems to struggle early in his starts and then he gets rolling,” Gibson said. “He threw pretty strong there at the end.”

View from the press box

Considering the way Aaron Hill was producing in Toronto before the Diamondbacks acquired him, it’s hard to believe he’s been hitting quite so many balls hard. Perhaps his recent level of success is unsustainable, but maybe it’s also possible that his level of failure in Toronto was unsustainable, too. He wasn’t as bad as he was showing, and the Diamondbacks are benefiting from the recovery.

The Arizona Diamondbacks sent right-hander Ryan Cook to Triple-A Reno on Monday, according to a news release.

Cook, 24, posted a 0-1 record and 36.00 ERA (4 earned runs in 1 inning pitched) with 2 walks in 2 games with the Diamondbacks in his first stint in the major leagues.

The Diamondbacks 25-man roster is at 24 players after this move.

The Diamondbacks continue to work on the little things that helped them find success during their seven-game winning streak entering Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins.

Before batting practice Tuesday at Chase Field, two minor-leaguers were on the mound, and Diamondbacks pitchers worked on their bunting.

There was one hitch, as Josh Collmenter took a ball off his pitching hand, but manager Kirk Gibson said it was nothing serious.

“That’s a risk you take,” Gibson said. “You got to get into it. You’re in a game, you’ve got to get your rear end into it, you got to get turned around, you go to get your chin behind the bat and we try to simulate it because we need to be able to execute (in) those situations.

“When we call squeeze, we’ve got to be confident they can do it, they’ve got to be confident in themselves. Squeeze, safety squeeze, but to third, bunt to first . . . we’d love to be able to hit and run with them, so it’s just part of continuing the stuff we really initially worked on in spring training.”

On the upswing

Not long ago, Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson was struggling, unable to raise his batting average above .200. All the while, Gibson said he liked Johnson’s preparation and approach. Gibson’s faith and Johnson’s work ethic are beginning to pay off.

Johnson had a big game in Monday’s 15-4 win over the Marlins, with four extra-base hits.

“It’s fun,” he said of the streak. “It’s just a lot of fun to see a bunch of guys that need to have success like this at this level to gain some confidence. Confidence is everything.

“To do it as an individual player . . . whether you’re pitching well or hitting well, whatever, you get rolling and catch fire, that’s fun. But it’s even more fun to look around and see your teammates doing it together, and you’re piling up wins.”

Johnson, who had raised his average to .224 entering Tuesday, looks at his slow start as just part of the ups and downs of a season. He almost had a huge up Monday, missing hitting for the cycle by a single. He accomplished the feat once in three opportunities in his career, every time needing a single in his final at-bat.

“So it’s one of those things, you always say, I did it one time, but honestly once you get to that point where you already got three hits in the game, chances are pretty good you’re winning, ” he said. “(Monday), I had four at that time, so anything extra it’s just gravy on top.”

Saunders finds rhythm

It has taken time, but left-hander Joe Saunders is finally settling into a better rhythm, having won back-to-back starts after five consecutive losses. He won his start Monday night, earning it after he worked his way out of a no-out, bases-loaded situation in the first inning.

“Joe’s throwing the ball fine,” Gibson said. “He walked a guy, and a guy hit one out. Other than that, in the first inning, he navigated through that very well.

“He’s induced a ton of ground-ball double plays; that’s one of his weapons. He gets in trouble, he’s able to go down low in the zone and get a double-play ball. . . . he understands what he has, and I think he’s able to use it.”

A day after jamming his right knee while trying to track down a ball hit into the corner in right field, Justin Upton pronounced himself fit and ready to go.

He did not start Monday night’s game against the Dodgers at Salt River Fields, but that was probably the right move, given the wet conditions brought upon by a full day of rain.

“He could have played,” manager Kirk Gibson said. “He’s still a little sore, so we’ll give it another day.”

Upton said he got most of his full daily routine in on Monday, which included his fair share of swings in the batting cage.

“It’s day by day, but I’m feeling OK,” he said. “My plan is to come back and play (Tuesday).”

Roster moves

The Diamondbacks trimmed five players from their spring-training roster Monday, including veteran outfielder Wily Mo Pena, who hit .341 with three homers in 41 at-bats.

Pena was reassigned to minor-league camp along with right-handers Micah Owings and Brian Sweeney.

“He did a great job and he got more at-bats than he thought he was going to get,” Gibson said of Pena. “He’s a guy who can certainly give you power off the bench. We want him to work on his routes in the outfield, but I’ll tell you what, he was a pleasure to have and I really like his leadership qualities.”

Additionally, catcher Konrad Schmidt was optioned to Reno and catcher John Hester was outrighted there.

That brings the number of players in camp to 35. Of the 35 remaining, 31 are on the 40-man roster and four are non-roster invitees.

The Gibby factor

Former major leaguer Steve Sax recently said that he thinks a good manager is worth an extra eight to 10 victories a year for his team.

When it comes to Gibson, a former teammate of his with the Dodgers, Sax says that number could be higher – even though this is only Gibson’s first full year as a manager.

“You take somebody like Kirk Gibson and he might be a 15-game difference,” Sax said. “And I say that because this guy is pretty dynamic. You’re talking about one hell of a tenacious guy who knows how to win.

“I loved playing with him; he’s one of my favorite teammates I ever had. He’s got an infectious attitude and I’m serious when I say if he’s half as good of a manager as he was a teammate, he’s going to be fantastic.”

Short hops

Closer J.J. Putz, who has been slowed by lower-back stiffness, threw in the batting cage Monday and responded well, according to Gibson.

The next step is for Putz to play long toss either Tuesday or Wednesday and then, “we’ll get him back on track,” Gibson said.

- Gibson said the field at Salt River Fields can withstand a lot more than what the weather dished out Monday.

The drainage system is so good, he said, that “it could rain 7 inches an hour and still get rid of it.”

Published: Monday, January 24, 2011, 10:40 AM     Updated: Monday, January 24, 2011, 11:14 AM

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said last week that he was trying to deal Armando Galarraga to a club that could immediately plug the right-hander in its starting rotation.

It appears the Arizona Diamondbacks will be that club.

The Arizona Republic reported late Saturday that the D-backs have expressed a strong interest in Galarraga and the clubs were in the process of “exchanging names in trade talks.”

SI.com’s Jon Heyman confirmed the report Monday morning and added Arizona was “likely to land” Galarraga.

Names have reportedly been exchanged in trade talks and minor-league right-hander Kevin Eichhorn has been linked as the player Detroit would receive in return.

A source told The Republic that a deal isn’t expected to occur until sometime this week, which is when Dombrowski said he expected a deal to be finalized. The Diamondbacks also appear to be in a position to pay Galarraga’s entire salary.

“We’re making some progress on some trade talks at this point,” Dombrowski told MLB.com on Saturday at TigerFest. “Not quite sufficient to make any announcements, but I would think by the middle of next week, we would be in a position where we would make a deal.”

The Tigers designated Galarraga for assignment last Tuesday — the same day he agreed to a one-year, $2.3 million deal. He was initially expected to compete for the club’s fifth spot in the starting rotation alongside Phil Coke before Detroit signed right-hander Brad Penny.

Galarraga went 4-9 last year with a 4.49 ERA in 24 starts, but won only two starts following his near-perfect game on June 2. He compiled a 23-26 record with a 4.55 ERA in 84 appearances the past three seasons.

Arizona is expected to plug Galarraga into a rotation that already features right-handers Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson and left-handers Joe Saunders and Zach Duke. He would seemingly push Barry Enright out of the starting rotation if acquired.

Eichhorn, 20, is the son of former major league reliever Mark Eichhorn and was Arizona’s third-round pick (104th) in 2008. Injuries limited Eichhorn to a combined 18.2 innings pitched in his first two professional seasons.

Eichhorn tossed 86.1 innings last season, posting a 5.00 ERA in 15 starts between High-A Visalia, rookie-level Missoula, and short-season Yakima, posting a combined 4.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.