NEW YORK -- It was a tale of two home runs. Both solo shots to lead off an inning, both part of Yankees rallies, both hit by Jason Giambi.
It was the first time the Yankees' slugger had hit two in the same game since July 18, 2003.
And it probably felt good -- but Giambi sounded more relieved than anything.
"I don't know if I was necessarily down, confidence-wise," Giambi said. "I just wanted to get good at-bats."
Giambi's first home run extended the Yankees' lead to 5-0, the third of three home runs the Bronx Bombers hit off Orioles starter Bruce Chen. His second came with the Yankees trailing, 8-6, in the eighth inning. It pulled the team within one run of the O's and kicked off a seven-run rally.
"That was a total momentum-grabber," Yankees reliever Wayne Franklin said. "It lit up the crowd a little; it got our bench going. That was maybe the biggest hit of the game."
Giambi had struggled on the Yankees' recent road trip, going 2-for-11 with only one run scored in five games. But he went 2-for-3 on Monday, walking once -- with the bases loaded -- and finished with three RBIs.
Giambi's hitting might be coming around. In June, he batted .310, posted an on-base percentage of .474 and amassed nine RBIs, his highest monthly total this season. However, he hit only one home run and had seven of those nine RBIs by June 16.
Giambi said he's been working on his swing, opening his stance to reduce the number of times he gets jammed. He added that he's only now beginning to feel better physically.
"It's getting there," he said. "I'm still getting used to the grind of being out there every day."
Though Giambi was modest about his overall progress, his manager and teammates were effusive in describing his performance Monday.
"He's big for our team," Gary Sheffield said. "He's a big help on offense, and when he steps up, it seems like we score a lot of runs."
"He had great at-bats, hit the ball hard, worked walks," Bernie Williams said. "Whatever it took, he was able to provide a lot of offense for us today."
"He's worked hard," manager Joe Torre said. "He's had to answer a lot of questions and endure a lot of stuff both on and off the field. Today could have been the best game he's had when you consider the number of quality at-bats and important hits he had."
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| 06/28/2005 11:33 PM ET Notes: Torre pleased with Giambi Slugger hitting over .300 since talk of Minor League stint By Mark Feinsand / MLB.com | |
BALTIMORE -- As far as Joe Torre is concerned, Jason Giambi is back.
No, the slugger who won the 2000 American League MVP award hasn't returned to the form that made him one of the most feared hitters in baseball. But Giambi has shown something at the plate in recent weeks that gives Torre hope that the power will return shortly.
"You notice it in a lot of different ways," Torre said. "When he makes an out, he's not a happy camper, as opposed to expecting to make an out. That's a good sign. I think he's very good right now."
In the past two weeks alone, Giambi has contributed a pair of game-winning hits for the Yankees, including a walk-off home run against the Pirates on June 15.
Since the Yankees discussed the possibility of going to work out the kinks in the Minors on May 10, the first baseman/DH is hitting .307 (31-for-101) with two home runs and 16 RBIs in 32 games.
"It's nice that the whole body language is there," Torre said. "There's a lot more tenacity there than we've seen in a while, and what has brought that about is the confidence that he feels in every at-bat."
Go Giambi!!!!
