SAVING BEST FOR LAST?

Lamb aims to do postseason damage

COYOTES Recap, 5C

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The second half of the season has not gone the way Jake Lamb would have liked. That much is obvious. His bat has gone cold. His numbers have dipped. He has lost at-bats and, at times, a prominent place in the Diamondbacks batting order.

But, for now, he does not care about any of that. What matters to him, only days before the start of the postseason, is the way he is feeling. He’s in a good place, he says, both at the plate and in his mind. He’s ready for the playoffs. He thinks he can help.

“Obviously, I was frustrated with what was going on, but what we’re doing here is bigger than my season numbers,” Lamb said. “I’m not saying I’m throwing those out the door, but if I can feel good going into the postseason, right when it matters, that’s all I care about. That means I’m helping this team win and having quality ABs. I’m actually pretty pumped up about it.”

The recent results are encouraging. In his past six games entering Friday, Lamb was 6 for 19 (.316) with two homers and more walks (seven) than strike-

See D-BACKS, Page 5C

At Paradise Valley, Finley played for Donnie Yantis, who today is ASU’s athletics director for recruiting. Upon graduation, Finley attended Boise State, suffering a season-ending surgery his sophomore season.

After graduating in three years, Finley transferred to North Carolina State. (ASU recruited Finley both as a high

See ASU, Page 6C INSIDE