DENVER – Facing further reduction in playing time, Diamondbacks right fielder Adam Jones says he understands the reasoning behind it and believes the best thing he can do is work to get back on track at the plate.

“We’ve got some guys who are swinging the bat really well,” Jones said. “It’s at the point in time where you’ve got to ride the hot hand. I’ve been around long time and I’ve seen it. Ride the hot hand and support your teammate.”

After a hot start, Jones has had a quiet couple of months, hitting just .248 with one home run since June 15. He had begun losing at-bats in recent weeks to Jarrod Dyson and is expected to lose even more following the promotion on Monday of prospect Josh Rojas, who had two hits in his big league debut.

Jones said he understands the club needs to do everything it can to win games and realizes others might be better options at the moment.

“It’s just understanding your role and trying not to be a selfish player,” Jones said. “I’ve seen all facets of this game. The ones that I’ve seen support their teammates the most seem generally to have the most success, team-wise, and happiness individually.”

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he spoke with Jones a few weeks back about losing at-bats and talked to him again prior to Rojas’ arrival, letting him know he might lose another start or so a week. He said he appreciates the way Jones has handled it.

“He’s been unbelievable,” Lovullo said. “He’s been more than understanding. I don’t think he necessarily likes it. Who does, right, when your playing time gets taken away from you? He still continues to be an incredible teammate.”

Jones said he’s working before games, hitting off high-velocity pitching machines and trying to treat batting practice more like live game situations in order to get his swing back on track. He doesn’t think he’s swinging with enough conviction in recent weeks.

“I’ll just get back to my simple mechanics and get back to who I am,” he said. “I’ve got to get back to getting ready earlier, getting out front and driving the ball. I kind of got away from that the last couple months. I’ve just got to get back to the drawing board and get back on it.”

On a roll

Lefty T.J. McFarland, who recorded four key outs late in Monday night’s win, said he has been able to turn his season around by getting back to pounding the bottom of the strike zone with his two-seam fastball.

“That’s kind of where I need to live,” he said. “All my misses are low instead of being up. Being a guy who throws 88-90 mph, you can’t miss up. … I get a little more life at the bottom of the zone. If I throw it up, it flattens out.”

As for what he’s done to change things, he didn’t offer many specifics, thought he credited pitching coach Mike Butcher and bullpen coach Mike Fetters for helping him “mentally and physically.”

He also didn’t dispute the notion that the shoulder issue that bothered him throughout spring training and cost him the first month of the season contributed to his slow start once he was healthy. Through July 18, McFarland had a 6.00 ERA through 33 innings.

“Yeah, it could have been (related to the shoulder),” he said. “It’s hard to say what could have caused the beginning of the season to start off so slow like that. Obviously, there was an injury. I can’t say yes or no on that. I do know right now I feel great. Hopefully I’ll continue down this path and help us get some wins.”

McFarland has allowed just one run in his past 11 2/3 innings.

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.