OAKLAND, Calif. -- Yankees star Jason Giambi was scratched from the starting lineup about 20 minutes before New York's game against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday because of inflammation in his left eye.

Giambi has been bothered by eye problems for a couple of weeks.

"It's hard to hit what you can't see,'' Giambi said after Friday night's 7-2 loss to the A's.

Despite the eye troubles, Giambi had not missed a game this season.

"He puts medication in it and it seems to get better, then it comes back on him,'' said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "This is his body. Let him respond to it.''

Giambi is hitting .214 with eight home runs, two of them coming in his last two days.

Giambi, who signed a seven-year contract with New York following the 2001 season, hit 41 home runs in his first year with the Yankees last year. He spent seven years with the A's, where he won the 2000 MVP award.