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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Those 40 home runs don't matter for now.
Jason Giambi wants the Oakland Athletics to see the postseason.
|  | | Angels pitcher Tim Belcher walks back to the mound after giving up a two-run homer to Jason Giambi, background, in the fifth inning on Monday. |
"We're playing great baseball," he said. "We've put ourselves
in a situation where we really control our own destiny. That's a
great situation to be in."
Giambi hit his 40th home run and brother Jeremy hit a
bases-loaded triple to lift Oakland over Anaheim 7-5 Monday night,
moving the Athletics within a half-game of idle Seattle in the AL
West.
The Athletics also opened a 1 1/2-game lead on Cleveland for the
wild-card spot. The Indians split a day-night, three-team
doubleheader -- they beat Chicago 9-2 and then lost to Minnesota 4-3 as
the Coliseum crowd cheered the game on the video scoreboard.
"That was a little boost before we even started," A's manager
Art Howe said.
With the loss, Anaheim was eliminated from the AL West. The
Angels remained mathematically alive -- barely -- for a wild-card
spot.
"You're always hoping that they'll be some minor miracle that
will keep you alive," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "The
division door is shut to us know, and you even could say it's shut
for the wild card, too, even though we're not out of it."
Rookie Barry Zito (6-4) struck out a career-high 10, allowing
three runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.
The A's have won five of their last six games.
Tim Belcher (4-4) got into trouble early. With one out in the
second inning, he gave up consecutive hits to Ben Grieve and Miguel
Tejada, then walked Eric Chavez to load the bases. Jeremy Giambi
tripled to deep center, just to the right of the 400-foot marker.
Howe ran out to argue the ball had bounced off the top of the
outfield wall and should've been a grand slam. A replay showed the
ball stayed inside the park.
Jeremy Giambi scored on Terrence Long's sacrifice fly.
The Angels narrowed it to 4-2 in the fourth on Ron Gant's
two-run single.
Chavez hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom half. It was
his 26th homer this season.
Jason Giambi hit the two-run homer in the fifth.
"I don't really set number goals," he said of his 40th.
"That's such a hard thing to do, `I'm going to hit 40 this year.'
I just try to get good at-bats."
Bengie Molina hit an RBI double off Zito in the seventh. Tim
Salmon hit a two-run single in the ninth off Jason Isringhausen.
Belcher, plagued by elbow problems this season, was coming off a
three-game suspension he served in Texas for bumping umpire Mike
DiMuro on June 27 at Seattle.
He gave up seven runs on seven hits over four innings.
"I've pitched so infrequently this year, the extra rest that I
had didn't matter," Belcher said. "I thought I had adequate
stuff, but I could have located better, much better."
Game notes
The Oakland Raiders played at the Coliseum on Sunday, so
the field had to be reconfigured for baseball in an overnight
operation. As a result, neither the A's nor the Angels could take
batting practice. It took from 6 p.m. Sunday to 4 p.m. Monday to
flip the field. ... Angels third baseman Troy Glaus has hit 44 home
runs to lead the American League. The last Angel to win the home-run title was Reggie Jackson in '82. ... The only AL team Chavez
hadn't homered against -- before Monday night -- was the Angels. ...
Jason Giambi joins three other Oakland A's players to hit 40 or
more home runs in a season. Mark McGwire did it three times, Jose
Canseco did it twice and Jackson once.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Anaheim Clubhouse
Oakland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 9
Chi. White Sox 2
Detroit 15
NY Yankees 4
Tampa Bay 5
Toronto 1
Oakland 7
Anaheim 5
Atlanta 6
Montreal 0
Chicago Cubs 4
Philadelphia 3
Arizona 6
Colorado 4
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jason Giambi is looking to get to the post season with this year's Oakland squad.
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Jeremy Giambi credit Oakland's success to his brother Jason.
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Manager Art Howe praises rookie pitcher Barry Zito's performance throughout the season.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Pitcher Barry Zito was looking to shut the Angels down offensively.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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