LOS ANGELES -- When he walked into the D-backs' clubhouse on Sunday after being recalled from Triple-A Reno, Chris Owings was greeted with smiles and hugs.
"It's good to be back," Owings said. "The team has been playing well, so it's fun to be back, especially in the mix of a playoff race."
It's been a difficult season for Owings, who was moved around to different positions -- all three outfield spots, second base and third base -- and was never able to get on track offensively.
When the D-backs elected to carry an extra pitcher at the beginning of August, they optioned Owings to Reno in what was an agonizing decision for manager Torey Lovullo.
Outside of injury rehab assignments, it was the first time Owings had to spend time in the Minor Leagues since 2013.
The 27-year-old took a couple days to digest the news before getting to work in Reno.
"It definitely wasn't easy," Owings said. "I went down there with a fresh mindset. I think that was the biggest thing, just going down there and playing hard. Not going down there and kind of pouting about it. From that standpoint, I definitely got some use out of it and like I said, it was good to play every day. It just kind of reminded me that I'm still a really good baseball player and I've got a lot of baseball left to be played."

Owings hit .286 at Reno, but it wasn't just his offense he worked on. He also spent time on his footwork in the infield because he did not get as many reps in the infield as usual.
"I feel like I came out of it a better player," Owings said. "I definitely made the most of it."