Reunion finds both Drew brothers performing well

The Drew brothers' reunion this week will center on first-place baseball, but their conversation will not. It seldom does.

Stephen and J.D. Drew would rather not talk about the sport in which they both excel, and the one that almost brought them to a shared World Series last season.

They mostly talk fishing or hunting, the hobbies that keep them together in the offseason, whether near their family's Georgia acreage or in a remote Kansas farmhouse four hours from the Kansas City airport.

"We hunt a lot in the offseason - duck, dove, deer. It's fun. It's relaxing," Stephen said.

"He killed a big old six-point (buck) in Kansas last year. I got a 10(-pointer), but he was hurt, though. We go back to the farm house and clean them ourselves."

Depending on the trip, the Drews can stock a freezer for a winter.

"It's good meat, too. Very clean. Very healthy," Stephen said.

Both Drews have been just as efficient on the field this season, too.

Stephen has 10 home runs, two short of his career high set last season, while hitting .268 with five multihit games in his last 12.

He has displayed a hitting stroke that creates the backspin necessary to hit home runs.

"He's staying on top of the ball and the backspin is carrying it. He has a better angle (with his bat)," D-Backs hitting coach Rick Schu said.

"I know I have some power," said Stephen, who had 13 in a half-season at Triple-A Tucson before being recalled in June 2006.

"Mine can barely sneak in and other guys can hit them 15 rows back, but they are still home runs."

He is on a pace for 21 home runs, a number the D-Backs believe is within his capabilities.

"I expect that out of him, and he expects it, too. We've talked about it," Schu said.

"He will be an RBI guy. He's just a good hitter. He's at his best when he pushes himself and sets his expectations high."

Stephen has done his best work while hitting at the top of the lineup, something else the brothers have in common.

J.D. has taken off since Boston manager Terry Francona moved him to the No. 3 spot in the batting order after slugger David Ortiz went down June 4.

J.D. has 10 homers in June, four short of Jackie Jensen's franchise record for the month, while hitting .394 to improve his season average to .318.

His 14 homers this season are three more than he had in 2007, after signing a five-year, $70 million free-agent deal with the Red Sox.

He does not believe the lineup shift is a factor, saying his start is a continuation of a late surge in 2007, when the Red Sox won the World Series and the D-Backs were a series short, falling to Colorado in the NLCS.

"When you have a good rhythm going, it's always nice because you don't have to dig yourself out of a hole," said J.D., who is 32, eight years older than Stephen.

"I found a good rhythm in August and September and into the playoffs and wanted to bring that into this year."