Chris Young hopes to give D-backs a lift

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Things are starting to look up for the Arizona
Diamondbacks. Thursday, the D-backs got a 9th-inning
homer from Justin Upton in a 9-7 come-from-behind win over
the Colorado Rockies.

And Friday, they get center fielder Chris Young back from
a shoulder injury that has had him on the disabled list
since April 18. Young will be in the lineup as the
designated hitter Friday night in the opener of a three-
game interleague series against the Kansas City Royals.

Arizona went 10-18 in Young’s absence.

“It’s been tough,” Young told reporters Friday. “It feels
like I’ve been in the clubhouse with them the entire time
from watching all the games on TV.

“You understand what everybody’s going through, but we
went through the same thing in seasons past and we proved
to ourselves that we could pick each other up, and that’s
what we plan to do.”

Young had a productive minor league rehab assignment with
Single-A Visalia and Triple-A Reno during which he knocked
in eight runs in just four games.

Overall, Young is glad to be back with the big league
club.

“The expectation is just to go out there and play the best
that I can,” he said. “I’m not gonna sweat it if I have an
amazing game, I’m not gonna sweat it I don’t do what I
expect to do. I’ve just got to trust that it’s going to
come back around.”

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