American League
After doubling in the sixth inning on Tuesday for his third hit of the game, Jason Giambi was replaced by a pinch-runner. As he trotted off the field, the Yankee Stadium crowd rose and applauded, and Giambi doffed his helmet. He was congratulated by teammates in the dugout.
"It was awesome," Alex Rodriguez said of the standing ovation. "He's gotten beat up from all angles this year. And for him to come out and keep fighting, keep working hard and get that ovation, I'm sure it was a very magical day for him."
Giambi hit a solo homer to right field in his first at-bat, in the second inning, to give the Yankees their first lead against Baltimore. In the next inning, Giambi's run-scoring double gave the Yankees a four-run lead and helped secure a 12-3 victory.
Giambi finished 3 for 4 with two runs batted in and raised his batting average 10 points, to .268.
On Monday, Giambi also showed flashes of the power that earned him the American League's Most Valuable Player award five seasons ago, hitting two homers. And the crowd responded to his first multihomer game during the regular season in nearly two years with wild cheers.
"I'm sure it meant a lot," manager Joe Torre said of the fans' reaction. "He's worked hard for this. The two home runs yesterday followed by giving us a jump-start today with the home run. It was good. I think he's starting to have fun again."
Torre added that the Yankees had been relying on a handful of players for offensive production, mainly Derek Jeter, Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui and Rodriguez. The recent re-emergence of Giambi's power, the hitting coach Don Mattingly said, "makes it tougher on the pitcher."
Earlier in the season, the 34-year-old Giambi was struggling at the plate and found himself on the receiving end of boos. He was coming off a season in which he played in only 80 games because of illness and injury and had testified to a federal grand jury in the BALCO inquiry that he previously used steroids, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. During the off-season, the Yankees looked into ways of voiding Giambi's contract, or at least making it nonguaranteed; he began this season due US$82 million over four years.
On the field, Giambi reached a low point on May 9, when having batted mostly as a designated hitter, his average dipped to .195. But since mid-May, his production has steadily increased, and now his power seems to be resurfacing, too.
"I went through a rough spot where I was kind of not doing too well, where I was kind of off," Giambi, who has eight homers this season, said before the game. "Then I started to put it back together slowly but surely. I had to change a few things with my swing. Like I said, getting jammed a little too much."
Mattingly has been working on shortening Giambi's route to the ball and getting him squared up. While they have not discussed hitting home runs, Mattingly said he was not surprised at Giambi's power surge during the last two games. "Once you start getting hits, and you keep getting them over time, your confidence grows," Mattingly said.
The more Giambi has produced at the plate, the more playing time he has received at first base. Tino Martinez, playing first base, carried the Yankees earlier in the season, but his production has dropped since mid-May, due partly to an injured foot.
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