Lamb celebrates first homer with style

PHOENIX -- Rookie third baseman Jake Lamb's mother called him while he was on his way home after hitting his first Major League home run on Saturday, but he declined the call.

Lamb, who has played 13 games with the D-backs, was lost trying to find his way home from the stadium.

"She got mad and asked if I was big leaguing her," Lamb said. "I was like, 'No, I'm not. I'm lost. I need to find my way back home.'"

Although he may not know his way around the Phoenix area, he does know his way around the bases. He had 15 homers in the Minor Leagues before the D-backs called him up on Aug. 7 before hitting his first big league blast in the second inning against the Padres on Saturday.

"I'm never one to hide my emotions," Lamb said. "I was smiling around the bases a little bit."

But once Lamb got to the dugout, he and his teammates' reaction to the homer became almost as noteworthy as the actual blast.

The rest of the team gave Lamb the silent treatment as he stepped back into the dugout, pretending to ignore the rookie. In response, Lamb high-fived imaginary teammates as he walked down the steps, a move that made its rounds on the Internet.

"I love having fun, so it was my own little thing," Lamb said. "I've seen a few people do it before and saw that there was nobody giving me high-fives, so I went for it."

The homer and subsequent gags may help Lamb loosen up as he continues his first Major League stint. Before Saturday's game, he was struggling to adjust to the Majors. He was hitting .190 entering the game.

"It's just part of the process, why we decided to bring him up," manager Kirk Gibson said. "To see what kind of adjustments he could make and thought it would be beneficial looking forward into the next year."