Increase in power, but also K's, for De Aza

NEW YORK -- With six homers in 122 at-bats this season -- including his leadoff shot Wednesday against the Mets -- Alejandro De Aza is well on his way to shattering his single-season high of nine long balls. But at 40 strikeouts, one short of Adam Dunn's team lead, De Aza also will fly by his single-season worst of 109.

De Aza didn't have much of an answer for his increased swings and misses when asked before Wednesday's game, aside from the fact that he's not swinging for the fences.

"I never try hitting home runs. Sometimes I put on a good swing, hit the ball in front and it goes," De Aza said. "I'm just trying to put the ball in play.

"The only thing I'm going to say is I'm going to try not doing it," said De Aza of his strikeouts. "But that's something I can't control. I go out there I'm going to swing the bat. Sometimes I'm going to swing at good pitches, sometimes at bad pitches. Like I said, it's something I can't control."

Despite the strikeouts, De Aza is doing a good job of seeing pitches. Entering Wednesday's game, he ranked 15th in the Majors with 4.28 pitches per plate appearance, compared to his 3.97 average from 2012.