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PHOENIX — Midway through the season, the Diamondbacks lost a key slugger to injury. Then Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson was forced to sit out the stretch run.

Right behind them in the National League West stand two other teams, one of them the revitalized Colorado Rockies. And the Diamondbacks' offense can barely produce enough to stay ahead of them.

Sound familiar?

It's this year. It's last year. It's … "like déjà vu," says infielder Augie Ojeda. "It's very similar to last year. The Rockies are making a strong push, too. Everything's pretty much the same."

Ojeda should know. A reserve infielder known for his defense, Ojeda was pressed into regular action last September when Hudson tore a ligament in his left hand.

This season, Hudson was lost in August after breaking a bone in his left wrist, pushing Ojeda into the lineup and the D-backs to trade for infielder David Eckstein.

And whereas outfielder Eric Byrnes struggled out of the gate and went on the 60-day disabled list with a torn hamstring on July 1, last year it was third baseman Chad Tracy who struggled with knee trouble until finally undergoing microfracture surgery in September.

Offensive blows, to be sure, but there are some differences this season: The Diamondbacks traded for free-agent-to-be outfielder Adam Dunn on Aug. 11, then added Eckstein on Aug. 31. Both moves were intended to bolster the offense.

There is also an inner confidence, some D-back players say, that was gained after last season's team managed to have the National League's best record, despite posting the worst batting average in the league (.250).

They know they can win it.

"I think last year, the feeling was wonder and speculation as to whether we could do it," infielder Tony Clark said. "This year, there's a lot more confidence. Obviously, you don't know how things are going to play out. But having a group of guys who've been thrown in the fire and come out on the other end makes a big difference in confidence."

But, so far, that confidence has not translated to a sense of urgency.

The D-backs and their division rivals are not only struggling to win the race, but also just to break .500.

"The way the division has played, all teams have been frustrated," D-backs manager Bob Melvin said. "So maybe results-wise, it looks a little like (last year), but to me, it doesn't feel like last year."

The D-backs had a chance to all but wrap up the NL West race last week, getting three games against lowly San Diego while the Los Angeles Dodgers were in the midst of an eight-game losing streak.

Arizona lost all three games in San Diego and then, when it had a chance to wipe out the Dodgers during a three-game series at Chase Field, won just one of three.

"More than anything, the thing that seems the same to me is nobody's running away with it," Clark said. "It'll probably come down to the last week again. I can see that coming."

So can shortstop Stephen Drew.

That is why, even as a key Padres-Rockies game played on clubhouse televisions before a Chase Field game last weekend, there were few reactions to it.

"It's a tight race," Drew said. "It's going to be down to the wire. Every game counts. You can't worry about tomorrow."

Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes is taking it slowly, too, even as he added Eckstein and Dunn to increase the team's chances during the stretch run.

Byrnes noted how Eckstein adds postseason experience to a team that gained plenty last season en route to the NL Championship Series.

"Until it's proven otherwise, it's a 162-game race," Byrnes said. "It was last year and maybe will be this year. We certainly had an opportunity to break away, and we haven't been able to do it. But we never expected this to be easy. There's a month to play, and we just have to be able to play well."