The ball jumped off Jason Giambi’s bat, rising faster than his batting average. Or the Yankees’ run up the AL East standings.
His two-run shot in the fourth inning – a first-pitch blast off Jake Westbrook that landed in the bleachers in right-center – ignited the sellout crowd of 54,256, and sparked the Bombers to a 9-4 win over Cleveland.
“That home run,” Joe Torre understated, “was big.”
After being a big, $13 million albatross around the Yankees’ collective necks for most of the season, he’s been a big part of their run lately.
On May 7, the club was nine games behind first-place Baltimore in the division. Two days later, Giambi was batting a season-low .195.
Now? After his shot gave them a 3-2 lead in a game they later blew open? They’ve closed to 2 ½ games behind Boston – whom they face Thursday to open the second half – and Giambi has hit .328 since.
“Sometimes it takes a little longer,” Torre said. “It’s nice to see Jason – as hard as he’s worked – to really end the first half like this.”
After being voted into last year’s All-Star Game with a sorry .241 batting average, Giambi won’t play in Detroit tomorrow, but he’ll surely feel better about his second-half prospects.
After an offseason rife with steroid speculation and the BALCO scandal, Giambi is hitting .278.He came into this homestand not having gone deep since June 15, but in these six games, he went 10-for-18 with six runs, 10 RBIs and a stunning five home runs.
“I can’t say that Jason’s a surprise. He’s certainly capable because he’s proved it over the years. We’re just happy for him that it’s starting to come together, and now he’s swinging the bat,” Torre said.
“Once he got the quality at-bats, all of a sudden the power came back. It’s based strictly on confidence and he certainly is hitting not only home runs but home runs at important times.”
And the Yanks are a different team with Giambi raking like this.
“There’s no doubt the lineup is a lot more formidable for us,” said GM Brian Cashman. “That’s one area you don’t have as much of a worry about.”