DJ beats shift with 3 hits, flirts with cycle

PHOENIX -- It didn't matter where the D-backs' defenders played against Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu. They weren't where he hit the ball during Monday night's 5-4 victory over the D-backs at Chase Field.
The right-handed-hitting LeMahieu knocked an RBI single to right field, which is his tendency, in the third inning. In the sixth, he pulled his second hit off starter Zack Greinke and forced D-backs left fielder David Peralta -- shifted toward the middle -- into a middle-distance sprint to hold it to two bases. In the eighth, he tripled off Jake Barrett to right-center.

All the hits helped the Rockies, since he scored after the second on Nolan Arenado's double in the sixth and on Arenado's three-run homer in the eighth.
On Sept. 1, the D-backs shifted the entire outfield against LeMahieu at Coors Field. LeMahieu doubled into the shift.
Put simply, LeMahieu won a National League batting title last year and is hitting .317 this year, so he isn't going to go away from his success because of another team's strategy.
"I try to just block it out, hit the ball hard," LeMahieu said. "If they're there, they're there. Hopefully, they're not."
On the triple over the shift, LeMahieu said, "There's not too many shifts for that one. But you never know. They might come up with something different."