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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) – Jason Giambi doesn't think about his batting
average or home runs or any of the other statistics that make him
so impressive.
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| Jason Giambi |
"My job is to come up big when I can and do the little things," he said. "The thing I've been able to do is get that one pitch and do something with it."
Giambi certainly did something with it Tuesday night, hitting
the eighth grand slam of his career to lead the Oakland Athletics
over the slumping Chicago White Sox 6-4. Terrence Long drove in two runs.
With the victory, their fifth in eight games, Oakland avoided the worst record in team history through 20 games. Five other Oakland teams started 7-13.
"Don't speak of us as struggling," manager Art Howe said. "We've been able to regroup and, slowly but surely, been able to put our game together."
The same can't be said for the White Sox, who lost their fourth
straight. Chicago is eight games behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.
Manager Jerry Manuel said he'll give Frank Thomas the day off
Wednesday and hold a team meeting.
"I've never seen a team with this much talent struggle like this," said Herbert Perry, who was 2-for-4. "It's getting to be crunch time. We're going to dig a hole so big, we're not going to be able to get out of it."
The White Sox actually showed signs of breaking out of their
slump, putting 10 runners on in the first three innings and taking
a 3-0 lead on Royce Clayton's two-run triple in the second. But they shut down after that, as Barry Zito (3-1) retired the next 13 batters.
Zito gave up three runs and seven hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked three.
Jason Isringhausen pitched the ninth for his fourth save in four chances.
"I was a little bit more committed to my pitches individually.
The first inning, I went out and was throwing stuff I wasn't 100
percent sure of," Zito said. "Going out in that third inning, I
was a different guy. Maybe it was the lead that helped me. But I
don't want to have to have that lead to have that mentality."
The White Sox did rally in the eighth off former White Sox
reliever Chad Bradford, recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Sacramento. Carlos Lee hit a two-out, RBI triple.
Bradford was relieved by Jeff Tam, who got Perry on a groundout.
Mark Buehrle (1-3) didn't pitch badly, getting into real trouble
in only one inning. But that third inning was enough.
With one out, plate umpire Jerry Meals said Buehrle hit Mario Valdez, though replays showed Valdez twisting out of the ball's way. Buehrle then loaded the bases, walking Johnny Damon and
plunking Frank Menechino on the shoulder.
That brought up Giambi. On the 0-1 pitch, he hit a towering shot
to right-center for his sixth homer of the year.
"I was trying to stay away from the big inning, but I got in a situation where there was nowhere to put Giambi," Buehrle said. "It was a good pitch, a curveball low and away, but he got it."
It was Giambi's second grand slam against the White Sox – he hit
one on April 9, 2000. Giambi, the AL MVP last season, hit four
grand slams last year.
"I never go up there thinking about hitting a home run. There's
only one or two freaks in this league (who do that) and that's Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire," Giambi said when asked if he was thinking grand slam. "I just wanted to get one up in the air."
Buehrle gave up five runs and four hits in 6 1-3 innings. He walked five – one intentionally – hit two batters and struck out two.
Long added an RBI double in the seventh and a run-scoring triple in the ninth.
The White Sox took an early lead after what should have been a
triple play by the A's in the second. With runners on first and
second, Julio Ramirez bunted and Zito caught the ball in the air.
From his knees, Zito threw to second, where shortstop Miguel
Tejada tagged Perry.
Tejada then threw to first, but the ball bounced and Giambi
couldn't get a glove on it. Sandy Alomar Jr. took second, then
advanced to third on Zito's wild pitch.
After Ray Durham walked, Clayton hit a triple into the deep, right-field corner, scoring Alomar and Durham to give Chicago a 3-0 lead.
Game notes
Clayton, hitting just .114 coming into the game, was
2-for-2. ... Tuesday was the 100th anniversary of the first AL
game, when the White Stockings defeated the Cleveland Blues 8-2 in
Chicago. To celebrate the anniversary, the Comiskey Park Jumbotron
was in black-and-white, and historic facts were shown throughout
the night. ... The A's are in the midst of a 13-game, 14-day swing
through Anaheim, Texas, Chicago and New York, their longest road
trip of the year.
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RECAPS
Boston 9
Minnesota 4
Anaheim 7
Cleveland 2
Baltimore 8
Detroit 3
Seattle 7
NY Yankees 5
Toronto 7
Texas 5
Tampa Bay 4
Kansas City 2
Oakland 6
Chi. White Sox 4
Houston 11
Atlanta 6
Milwaukee 6
NY Mets 4
St. Louis 7
Montreal 2
Colorado 14
Chicago Cubs 1
Arizona 9
Florida 8
Philadelphia 12
San Diego 7
Pittsburgh 5
Los Angeles 1
Cincinnati 9
San Francisco 5
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