Practice, patience paying off for Herrmann

ATLANTA — There were times during his 1-for-20 start to the season that D-backs catcher Chris Herrmann allowed the negative thoughts to crowd his mind.

It was hard at that time to envision a day like Sunday, when he hit a pair of home runs to lead the D-backs past the Braves, 5-3, at Turner Field.

“I was at a pretty low point that first couple weeks,” Herrmann said.

He’s riding high now, having gone 9-for-19 with three home runs in his last five starts behind the plate. It makes all the work he put in with hitting coach Dave Magadan and assistant hitting coach Mark Grace worth it.

“Just to finally have some good at-bats and not really striking out a whole lot — like I was in the beginning of the season — and just making adjustments feels really good,” Herrmann said. “Just going up there with some confidence, knowing that something good is going to happen, has helped me out a lot. I’ve had Magadan and I’ve had Gracie to talk to about that stuff. Both of those guys have played a very long …

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