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.

SAN DIEGO — Looking to apply jumper cables to the lineup’s dead battery, Rockies manager Jim Tracy on Monday night shifted Carlos Gonzalez to the top of order and back to center field, his natural position.

This move is an indictment of the offense that entered Monday hitting .243 and had scored more than three runs just 11 times since May 1. In spring training, Tracy pledged to keep Gonzalez in left field — to preserve his legs — and bat him third. But with the Rockies unable to shake a six-week funk and Dexter Fowler headed to the disabled list, a drastic move was required. Center field is not a temporary shift, Tracy said, but hitting at the top of the order might be.

“I don’t have a problem with it. I have had success at leadoff in the past,” Gonzalez said. “This game is crazy. Maybe this will help me. It wasn’t like I was getting a lot of opportunities to hit with men on base hitting third anyway.

“And center field is my natural position. I won a Gold Glove last year and I am pretty sure I can get another one wherever I play. I want to do what’s best for the team. It will be a little more work, running, but I am totally fine with it.”

Fowler’s injury and Eric Young Jr.’s defensive shortcomings accelerated a move that was first discussed internally a week ago. Fowler is expected to land on the DL with the Rockies promoting Charlie Blackmon, who has been a slugging corner outfielder in Triple-A.

Gonzalez met with Tracy before Monday’s game to discuss the changes. He embraced them but told Tracy his preference is to return to the three hole now occupied by Todd Helton.

“I told him that’s what I want too,” Tracy said. “I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. All I know is that when he came here in 2009, that’s where I had him hit and he started to figure things out.”

Part of the motivation is to help Gonzalez regain strike-zone discipline. He’s a .294 hitter from the top spot compared with a .315 average in the three hole. Separating Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki also creates a new dynamic. When they are hot, they create unmatched havoc in the National League. But their streaky nature has paralyzed the Colorado lineup at times this season.

Monday’s move frees Gonzalez to steal more bases and potentially creates more fastballs for Tulowitzki, who will be hitting behind Helton, a veteran notorious for grinding out at-bats.

“We’ve had some ups and downs this year obviously. Me and Tulo have both been hitting around .250 and I don’t think that’s going to continue,” Gonzalez said. “I need to do my best to create more situations for Helton and Tulo to knock me in. We know we have to turn this around.”

Top 10 things to look for in sports starting Monday:

No. 10 Auto Club Speedway is the site of Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

No. 9 The Rapids play at Chivas USA on Saturday night.

No. 8 The Colorado Rockies are closing in on the end of spring training and start of the season.

No. 7 Doherty’s Dan McKiernan will be inducted into the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Saturday at the Aurora Red Lion Hotel.

No. 6 Local college highlights include NCAA fencing at Ohio State on Thursday to Sunday with three from AFA competing, AFA at DU in men’s lacrosse Saturday, Div. III swim nationals at Knoxville on Wednesday.

No. 5 It will be a light prep schedule week with many schools on spring break, including some team road trips.

No. 4 The Avs are home vs. Columbus on Tuesday and Toronto on Thursday and visit L.A. on Saturday.

No. 3 The Nuggets return home vs. Toronto on Monday, powerhouse San Antonio on Wednesday and Washington on Friday.

No. 2 Air Force clinched a berth and Colorado College is likely to grab an at-large bid in the NCAA hockey tournament regionals, which start Friday to Sunday.

No. 1 The NCAA basketball tournament goes from 16 teams to four for the men and 32 to eight for the women.

Also receiving votes:
Barry Bonds’ perjury trial is scheduled to start Monday
U.S. men play soccer powerhouse Argentina Sunday

NEWSCORE – Former American League MVP slugger Jason Giambi has agreed to a Minor League deal with the Colorado Rockies, MLB.com reported Monday.

Giambi, 40, could be used as a pinch-hitter and backup to Rockies first basemen Todd Helton if he were to be called up this season.

The former Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees All-Star would give Colorado manager Jim Tracy another left-handed hitter off the bench. Giambi hit .244 with six home runs and 35 RBIs in 176 plate appearances for the Rockies last season.

Giambi has amassed a .281 batting average with 415 home runs and 1,365 RBIs during his 16-year Major League career.

SOURCE: MLB.COM