MILWAUKEE – The Diamondbacks won’t have a hometown participant in Monday’s Home Run Derby, but right fielder Justin Upton said he has no hard feelings about not getting picked for the team by NL captain Prince Fielder.

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Profile: Justin Upton

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“I would have loved to have been picked to be in it, just for the sole fact that it’s in my stadium and a lot of our fans would be there,” he said. “That would have been awesome. But at the same time I’ll get to sit back and enjoy it.”

Fielder went with teammate Rickie Weeks, Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp and Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday. Fielder said Upton and Florida outfielder Mike Stanton were under final consideration.

“It was very tough,” Fielder said. “I wanted everybody to be in it. I definitely wanted someone from the Diamondbacks to be in it, but these guys, I know these guys really well, and these are my picks. No hard feelings.”

Upton homered against the Brewers on Tuesday, and he laughed when a reporter jokingly asked if he said anything to Fielder as he rounded first base.

“I’d rather hit them here than in the derby,” Upton said. “The one good thing about it is I won’t have to practice the home-run swing.”

Stumping for Ian

Though the ballot box hasn’t been kind to right-hander Ian Kennedy so far, teammates continue to support his bid to make the All-Star team.

Kennedy is one of five candidates for a roster spot in an online vote at mlb.com, but the site reported Tuesday that he last among the five. Philadelphia outfielder Shane Victorino has the early lead.

“I’d put Ian up against any starter in baseball the way he’s pitched this first half,” closer J.J. Putz said. “Hopefully the fans in baseball realize what he’s accomplished this first half and do the right thing and vote him into the All-Star Game.”

The Diamondbacks joined forces with the Tampa Bay Rays in trying to drum up votes for Kennedy, endorsing the Rays’ Ben Zobrist as the Rays support Kennedy.

Kennedy still might get into the game even if he isn’t voted in. Starting pitchers who pitch on Sunday – like the Giants’ Matt Cain is scheduled to do – must be replaced on the roster by rule.

Putz’s status

Putz, who was placed on the disabled list Friday with elbow tendinitis, threw from 90 feet on Tuesday, the second day in a row he had played catch, and said he felt fine.

“Hopefully, the goal is to try to get on a mound Sunday,” he said.

Putz is hoping to avoid a minor-league rehab assignment.

He’s hoping to return immediately after the All-Star break.

Short hop

After playing four games for the club’s rookie-league affiliate in Arizona, infielder Geoff Blum, who’s returning from knee surgery, played in his first game for Triple-A Reno on Monday, going 0 for 3. He is expected back from the disabled list after the All-Star break.

PITTSBURGH – Fallout from Sunday’s beanball war with the Washington Nationals came in the form of suspensions Tuesday, one game for manager Kirk Gibson and three for reliever Esmerling Vasquez.

But the sense around the team, particularly among the position players, was of gratification in knowing that the pitching staff has their backs. After right fielder Justin Upton was hit by a pitch for the fourth time in the four-game series, Vasquez responded by hitting Washington’s Danny Espinosa.

The tit-for-tat was something that had been missing from previous Diamondbacks teams.

Players were wary of being quoted on the record about it, but one position player posited that it was just a matter of a winning atmosphere breeding chemistry and camaraderie. Another said it’s just a case of a unit of players that’s more closely knit than previous years.

A third player wasn’t sure why things are different, but he said he was going to offer to pay Vasquez’s fine for him.

Gibson served his suspension during the Diamondbacks’ 8-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Vasquez’s will be served pending the resolution of his appeal.

A manager is given an automatic suspension after umpires issue warnings and subsequently eject a pitcher.

Nationals manager Jim Riggleman served his one-game suspension Tuesday, and starting pitcher Jason Marquis, who also appealed, was hit with a five-game suspension.

Duke’s homecoming

Lefty Zach Duke admitted to feeling a little awkward in the visitors’ clubhouse Tuesday, his first day back at PNC Park as a visiting player.

He doesn’t know what it’s going to feel like today, when he faces his former team and is matched up against one of his better friends, fellow lefty Paul Maholm.

“I don’t know, honestly,” he said when asked how he’ll feel pitching as a visitor. “I feel like I was pretty courteous to the fans. Hopefully I’m well received. It’ll be fun.”

Duke has known Maholm since 2003, and he said the two have been trading text messages in advance of the start. He laughed when asked if he’s going to try to bust Maholm inside.

“I’m just going to try to get everybody out,” he said. “He’s just like anybody else. I’ll do whatever I can to get everybody out.”

He acknowledged the frustration inherent in pitching for one of baseball’s worst teams for parts of six seasons but believes the Pirates, at one game under .500, are moving in the right direction.

“They have a bunch of good, young players,” he said. “Obviously they’ve been doing a lot of things right to win. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”

Major League Baseball has issued the following discipline as a result of the intentional throwing incidents that took place after a warning had already been issued to both teams in the top of the fifth inning during Sunday’s game between the Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Joe Garagiola, Jr., Senior Vice President of Standards and On-Field Operations for Major League Baseball, made the announcement.

Nationals pitcher Jason Marquis has received a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing a pitch at Justin Upton of the Diamondbacks in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Diamondbacks pitcher Esmerling Vasquez has received a three-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing at Danny Espinosa of the Nationals during the top of the eighth inning.

Marquis’ suspension was scheduled to begin Tuesday, when the Nationals will play the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, but he has elected to appeal.

Vasquez’s suspension was also scheduled to begin Tuesday, when Arizona will play the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, but he has also elected to appeal.

In addition, Nationals manager Jim Riggleman has received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for Marquis’ intentional actions following the warning, and Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson has received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for Vasquez’s intentional actions following the warning.

Riggleman’s suspension will be served Tuesday night, when the Nationals will face the Giants. Gibson’s suspension will also be served Tuesday, when the D-Backs visit the Pirates.

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.”

SAN DIEGO – Shortstop Stephen Drew didn’t have much improvement to report with his sore right groin, but he still was holding out hope that he would be able to return to the lineup when the club returns to action Tuesday night in San Francisco.

Drew left in the fourth inning Saturday night after re-aggravating the injury and did not play Sunday. He plans to get additional treatment during Monday’s off day.

“Not really, no,” he said, when asked if he were feeling any better. “It’s good that we gave it a day and then we have another day (today). I think that hopefully by Tuesday it will have calmed down enough that I can get back to playing. I’m just trying to get it calm down.”

He said he first felt the groin “grab” at him while turning a double play during a game last week at Chase Field. It was during another double play, when coming across the bag to throw on Saturday night, that he felt it again.

“I’ll get a massage or something (today), for sure,” he said.

Lefty developing

Manager Kirk Gibson said he has tried to use lefty reliever Joe Paterson in some lower-pressure situations, both so he can face more right-handed hitters and mix in more pitches than just his breaking ball.

“He’s coming along,” Gibson said. “His mentality is much better. He feels more comfortable, a part of the team. Hopefully he won’t get humbled.”

So far, so good: He has allowed just six baserunners (two hits, three walks, one hit batter) and hasn’t been charged with a run in 7 1/3 innings.

Though he opened the season with a couple of shaky outings, including one in which he forced home a run by walking the only batter he faced, he says he isn’t pitching more aggressively. He says he just has had better command.

“I think more comfortable,” he said. “I don’t know about confidence. I might not show it, but there is no shortage of confidence when I’m out there.

“Sometimes you go in there and you have total control and other times you don’t and you have to work with it. Unfortunately for what I do, you usually only get one batter to figure it out.”

Waiting it out

Gibson said the team would decide Tuesday who will step into the rotation to pitch at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

Reliever Josh Collmenter seems to be a leading candidate, but Gibson said there are other pitchers being considered.

“If Josh is going to start, Tuesday would be the last day he could probably throw (in relief),” Gibson said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Collmenter, who has allowed two runs in 14 innings of relief, came through the minor leagues as a starting pitcher, posting a 3.50 ERA in 515 innings since being drafted in 2007.

Duke’s schedule

Left-hander Zach Duke’s road back from a broken pitching hand continues Monday with his first of two scheduled outings in extended spring training, Gibson said.

Duke is expected to throw about 30 pitches today and 45 pitches on Saturday, as he’ll begin working on a normal, every-fifth-day schedule.

At that pace, he will need at least four starts before he would be ready to return to the big leagues just before the end of the month.

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.”