Byrnes headed back to DL with hamstring strain

Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said before Monday’s game he wasn’t quite sure if Eric Byrnes was totally healthy because Byrnes hadn’t attempted to steal a base yet.

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The results he got back weren’t good.

Byrnes pulled up lame while attempting to swipe third base with no outs in the third inning on Monday and left the game with a left hamstring strain.

He will go back on the disabled list just a week after being activated. The injury has been bothering him all season.

“It got him,” Melvin said. “To me, it was worse than any of the other ones he’s had. He’s a pretty tough cat and for him to automatically be out of the game. ... A step or two before he went into his dive it went on him. It’s definitely DL. How long? We’re not 100 percent sure.”

Byrnes doubled to lead off the inning, but the hamstring tightened up 10 feet from the bag and a meek slide left him short of the base. He had struggled in his six games since returning from the disabled list, batting 3-for-23.

He had been on the disabled list from May 27 with tears in both hamstrings, missing 25 games. Melvin said there will be a corresponding move today, but with Micah Owings’ availability for Wednesday’s start up in the air, the D-Backs must determine whether to bring up a pitcher or a position player.

Catcher Chris Snyder also left the game when he was hit with a foul ball in the fourth inning. Snyder is day-to-day.

CHANGE IN MENTALITY

Despite inconsistency on offense and defense, the most important factor in a Diamondbacks turnaround might be as simple as a return to belief in the clubhouse. After all, this is the same team that started the year a major league best 28-16, and it has most of the same faces that propelled last year’s squad to the NLCS.

While the offense has been hiding for more than a month and the team has lost nine of its last 12 games, the D-Backs still lead the division.

“We’ve got to change our mentality,” Jeff Salazar said. “(In the second half of last year) we expected to pull those games out. We expected to win. That’s the difference — expecting good things to happen instead of hoping bad things don’t happen.”

A BREATHER

Orlando Hudson was given a day off on Monday after a long road trip.

“O is just a little beat up right now, a little tired,” Melvin said.

SHORT HOPS

Owings (groin) is tentatively set to start on Wednesday, barring any setbacks. If he can’t pitch, Yusmeiro Petit would be the most likely fill-in, provided he doesn’t pitch in relief today. ...

The Diamondbacks and the Double-A Mobile BayBears have reached an agreement to extend their affiliation through 2010.