"Before he swiped a career-high three bases Saturday night against the Colorado Rockies, Chris Young had gone 21 consecutive games without a steal.

Those days are history, according to the Diamondbacks center fielder.

"It's definitely going to become more of a part of my game," said Young, who had seven steals entering Monday's game against the visiting Atlanta Braves. "It's something I wish I would have done more of up to this point."

The Diamondbacks have been trying to incorporate more base stealing into their play, and they have the players to do it in Young, Justin Upton (eight steals), Kelly Johnson (five), Stephen Drew (four) and Conor Jackson (three).

"We've started a lot of runners recently, and it's becoming a part of our identity," manager A.J. Hinch said. "It's something we want to be good at consistently so we can try to put some pressure on our opponents."

The Diamondbacks still strike out too much, however, which makes base stealing risky. Upton and Mark Reynolds, for instance, ranked tied for first in the National League with 76 strikeouts apiece. But for players such as Young, it's a danger zone he is willing to enter.

"A.J. gives me the freedom to run, and I'm going to take more advantage of it when I can," he said. "But I don't want to run just to run. I want to run with a purpose. I want to run when the game really matters, when I can make a difference."

Young stole 27 bases in 2007 as a rookie and can see no reason why he can't swipe 30 bags a year.

"I'm not a flier like Carl Crawford or Michael Bourn. Those guys are stealing 50," Young said. "But 30 is a nice number, and the more confidence on the bases I get, the more often I'll take the chance to do it.""