LOS ANGELES -- Brian Barden almost learned the hard way that when you're in Triple-A you should always keep your cell phone handy.

Barden was taking a bath with his two-month-old daughter Tuesday evening, so he shut his phone off. Meanwhile, Triple-A Tucson trainer Greg Barber was trying to reach him to let him know he needed to be on an early morning flight to Los Angeles.

"Finally, he reached me on my wife's cell phone," Barden said. "I don't know how they got her number, but I'm glad they did."

Barden was summoned up to the D-backs on Wednesday after third baseman Chad Tracy strained a muscle in his ribcage Tuesday night. Tracy is still on the active roster, but that could change later this week.

To make room for Barden, the team optioned lefty Dana Eveland to Tucson.

"We're not sure yet," D-backs manager Bob Melvin said. "Day after, he's somewhat sore. We'll have a better read on it [Thurdsay]. We'll have our doctors look at it."

Tracy felt some discomfort in his ribcage when throwing the ball during batting practice.

"I think I got out [of the game] in time before it got too bad," Tracy said. "If you completely pull that muscle, it's a six-to-eight-week recovery. I think I could be fine in a couple of days because we got to it in time."

Tough luck: Eveland's time with the D-backs lasted 11 days, and after starting and pitching on a regular basis in Tucson, he made just two relief appearances during his big-league stint.

"He hasn't gotten regular work," Melvin said. "He'll go down there and do his thing. Whether or not we've seen him for the last time, I would probably say I doubt it."

The move was not a surprise for Eveland, but the timing of it was.

"I expected it to happen," he said before leaving the clubhouse. "I just thought it was going to happen [Thursday] when Micah [Owings] came off the [disabled list]."

Eveland has had tremendous success in the Minor Leagues during his career, but has struggled to replicate that when he gets to the big leagues.

"His numbers in Triple-A are borderline dominant, and then at the big-league level he's had a few hiccups," Melvin said. "Whether or not he's been given consistent innings or starts or whatever that he's gotten in the Minor Leagues may have something to do with it. That's a hurdle that everyone needs to get over at times. Sometimes it takes guys longer than others."

What time is it? Once he finally got the news, Barden had a hard time getting any sleep with his early flight looming.

"I woke up like every hour looking at the clock to see if it was time yet," he said.

Barden was on his way from the airport to Dodger Stadium when his cell phone rang. This time it was teammate Robby Hammock, calling to tell him he was looking at Barden's name in the lineup that was posted.

"That's how I found out I was starting today," Barden said.

Getting it done: Outfielder Carlos Quentin has swung the bat better of late, and the notorious first-ball hacker also has been drawing quite a few walks.

"It's still a work in progress and a learning curve for him," Melvin said. "But I think he's understanding at times that when he swings at a lot of first pitches, he's not going to get a ball to hit on the first pitch, that they will try to get him to expand a little whether it's in or out. I think he's aware of that now, and where he will always be aggressive, somehow he finds a way to get deep in counts and draw walks, too."

Poor placement: Reliever Brandon Lyon was trying to go down and away with a fastball against Olmedo Saenz in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday night, but instead left the ball over the middle of the plate. Saenz smacked the pitch back up the box for the winning hit.

"I just didn't make a quality pitch there," Lyon said. "That's the most frustrating thing. You're going to lose games, but you don't like getting beat when you don't throw a quality pitch."

Up next: The D-backs open a seven-game homestand with a three-game set against the Mets, beginning Thursday night at Chase Field.

Arizona has been a friendly place for the Mets over the years. They are 20-13 there overall, including an 8-0 mark the past two years, and have hit the ball well there.

"A lot of time when you're a power-hitting club like that, and you come out of New York early on and the ball is not carrying, and now you get into a place like ours where it's a controlled atmosphere and the ball carries to all fields," Melvin said. "We deal with that a lot. Teams love to come into our place and hit. It's a good place to hit. Especially power-hitting clubs. They've had success there and I'm sure they feel good about playing at our place, so we're going to have to start playing better against those guys, especially at home."