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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Here comes the latest version of the bash brothers.
Jason Giambi drove in five runs with a grand slam and a
sacrifice fly and Jeremy Giambi hit an RBI triple and drove in his
older brother with a sacrifice fly as the Oakland Athletics broke
out of their offensive slump Sunday with a 14-2 victory over the
Chicago White Sox.
|  | | Oakland second baseman Frank Menechino completes the double play after forcing out Chicago's Frank Thomas. |
"They didn't do too bad. You can see they both know what
they're doing when they go to the dish," Oakland manager Art Howe
said.
Making his first start for the A's, Jeremy Giambi ignited a
five-run sixth with his triple and one inning later, Jason Giambi
hit his fourth career slam to cap a six-run seventh as Oakland
stopped Chicago's four-game winning streak.
It was enough to bring back memories of the unrelated Bash
Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, who played in Oakland in
the late 1980s and early '90s.
"This is the first time we've played on the same team and it's
fun and exciting," said Jeremy Giambi, united with his brother in
Oakland after the A's acquired him in a February trade with Kansas City.
"Every at-bat, I'm there cheering for him and he's doing the
same for me. He was excited for me and I was excited for him and it
was a big thing for the team because we've struggled. Hopefully,
we'll start putting runs on the board like we're capable."
The Giambis are the sixth set of brothers to play for Oakland
but just the second to be with the club at the same time. They were
in the starting lineup together for the first time Sunday.
"Hopefully, we're going to have some more games like that," Jason Giambi said. "He's my brother and my best friend. We've seen each other's swings since we were kids. It's almost like having a coach on the bench. We're constantly helping each other."
The brothers helped bring to life an A's offense that began the
day with a league-low .206 batting average. Rich Becker, in an
0-for-14 slide, added a solo homer and a two-run single.
Kevin Appier (1-1) pitched 6 2-3 innings, allowing two runs and
four hits. He stayed in the game after being hit in the leg by
Magglio Ordonez's grounder to end the sixth, and helped the A's
salvage a win in their three-game series with the White Sox.
"You can't take anything away from Kevin Appier. That's the way
I remember him," said White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, who had two
of the team's nine hits. "His arm speed is back."
Doug Jones relieved Appier and at 42 became the oldest player
ever for the Athletics. He pitched 1 1/3 innings.
Ray Durham hit his third homer of the season for the White Sox,
a two-run shot in the sixth. Chicago was trying to complete its
first three-game sweep in Oakland in three years.
Kip Wells (0-1) struggled with his control, walking six -- one
intentionally. He went five innings and allowed six runs and four
hits.
"I felt good the first three innings, but then I lost my rhythm
a little bit in the fourth inning," Wells said. "I tried to get
back on track, but I wasn't able to locate my pitches the way I
wanted."
Jeremy Giambi, who appeared in two previous games as a
pinch-runner and pinch-hitter, started at designated hitter in
place of John Jaha. His brother opened the fourth with a single and
Wells walked Matt Stairs and Ben Grieve before Jeremy lifted a fly
to deep right for a 1-0 lead.
The A's led 3-2 when they broke open the game in the sixth.
Thomas mishandled Grieve's sharp grounder to first for an error.
Jeremy Giambi followed with a deep drive to center that Chris
Singleton, battling the sun, had glance off his glove for a triple.
Wells walked Miguel Tejada and was relieved by Scott Eyre, who
gave up successive run-scoring singles to Eric Chavez and Sal
Fasano. Frank Menechino and Jason Giambi drove in the final runs of
the inning with sacrifice flies.
Becker hit a two-run single in the seventh and, after a walk to
Menechino loaded the bases, Jason Giambi drove a 2-2 offering from
Tanyon Sturtze for his third homer of the season.
Game notes
The A's activated Jones from the 15-day disabled list and
designated reliever Scott Service for assignment. ... Becker's
fifth-inning homer was the first hit of the season by an Oakland
leadoff batter. Becker and Ryan Christenson had gone a combined
0-for-20 to that point. ... Thomas has at least one hit in each of
the first seven games. ... Despite the loss, the White Sox (4-3)
are above .500 after seven games for the first time since a 5-2
start in 1992.
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