About 90 minutes after Jason Giambi’s mammoth upper-deck walkoff home run had given the Yankees a 10th-inning 7-5 win over Pittsburgh last night, George Steinbrenner climbed into his waiting van a happy man.

When asked if he were happy for the beleaguered and oft-booed Giambi, who seemed to take out a season’s worth of frustration on that powerful swing, Steinbrenner answered, “I’m happy for everybody. It was a great game.”

Well, at least the end result was. After the come-from-behind victory – in which the Bombers erased a three-run, seventh-inning deficit – Steinbrenner hurried off before he could comment on starting pitcher Kevin Brown, who left the game after 4 1/3 innings with back spasms.

But when asked if such a dramatic and titanic two-run shot could turn the tide for Giambi – who went 2-for-5 and is now 11-for-his-last-34, and 18-for-his-last-56 – Steinbrenner replied, “We hope so. We hope it does.”