Jason Giambi had the luxury of being designated hitter for the Sky Sox on Thursday. That was especially good during a 10-2 loss to Salt Lake before 5,816 fans at Security Service Field.

After the Sky Sox fell behind 10-0 in the second inning, Giambi did his best to stay loose and work on his mechanics, a good idea for a guy playing in just his second game since July 19.

“I just try to control what I can and make the best of each at-bat,” said the 38-year-old Giambi, the 2000 Most Valuable Player in the American League. “It’s hard to stay loose when you get a little older. I felt good, though.”

He walked in the first and seventh innings, grounded out in the third and struck out in the fifth.

“I should’ve had one more walk, but I wanted to be aggressive,” said Giambi, who boasts an impressive .405 on-base mark in 15 big-league seasons, thanks to 1,255 walks, which helped him lead the AL in walks four times.

“That’s part of my game and will be when I go up there (to the Rockies),” Giambi said. “I’ll be coming off the bench and my job is to get on base and keep a rally going.”

As Salt Lake pitcher Brad Salmon talked about facing Giambi, the slugger signed autographs and posed for pictures with Sky Sox fans for 15 minutes after the game.

“He’s a fricking superstar so it’s awesome,” said the 29-year-old Salmon, who reached the big leagues with Cincinnati in 2007. “He’s human, too, but he can lose it if you make a mistake. I went in-and-out on him and tried not to let him lock in.”

Chris Pettit had a two-run homer in the first against Sky Sox starter Esmil Rogers, who gave up 10 earned runs in 1 1/3 innings along with seven hits, four walks, three wild pitches and his own throwing error.

Jason Giambi, shown here against the Salt Lake Bees on Wednesday, went 0-for-2 with two walks on Thursday. Photo by Kevin Kreck