"With every fastball crashing against his body, Justin Upton is being tested.

So is the fortitude and fighting spirit of the Diamondbacks.

"This is where youth comes in," former relief pitcher Mitch Williams said. "This is when the starting rotation for the Diamondbacks needs to learn that if a guy on your team is getting plunked on a regular basis, it's incumbent upon you to protect your players."

A weekend showdown in San Francisco is a time to be stoic, not stupid. But entering a three-game series against the Giants, Upton has been plunked 16 times this season, and five times in the past 28 days. The recent target on his back has vaulted the Diamondbacks to third in the National League for most hit by pitches (50).

Something unsavory and unsettling is afoot. This wouldn't be happening if Randy Johnson was still in uniform.

"Probably not," Johnson said. "The one thing I didn't have a problem doing is, if you were going to hit one of my teammates because he was doing really well and he gave me the opportunity to win a ballgame, and you didn't give him that opportunity and hurt him, or put him on first base and took the bat out of his hands, then there was going to be a bit of retaliation.""