FORT MYERS, Fla. – Jason Giambi provided most of the juice when the Red Sox played the Yankees last night in the first reunion of the rivals since Boston’s epic triumph last fall.

The Yankees’ designated hitter, the symbol of baseball’s steroids problem, arrived at the second annual hugely over hyped exhibition game, gave a mass interview, got a hug from Kevin Millar, took batting practice, and signed autographs for 25 minutes.

Then, as two men behind the plate yelled “Steroids! Steroids! Steroids!” in the fifth inning, he sent a pitch from lefthander John Halama over the fence in right-center field for his first home run of the spring. Giambi went 2-for-5 in New York’s 9-2 win, leaving him with a .250 average (3-for-12) with two RBI.

“For the critics, it’s always nice,” Giambi said. “A lot of the hard work paid off tonight.”

Patrons in the crowd of 7,723 at City of Palms Park were polite during batting practice, then booed when he was introduced and again before he singled sharply to right field in the first inning.

“Come on, Juicy!” one loud fan yelled. “Let’s go Balco!” others chanted, referring to the laboratory in the federal investigation of steroid distribution.

Giambi popped out in the third, took a called third strike in the seventh, and grounded out in the ninth. During Giambi’s first three games of spring training, he was received warmly. But two of those were at Tampa’s Legends Field, where the Yankees are based, and one at Lakeland, where New York fans were as numerous as Detroit supporters.

Giambi, one of only a handful of Yankees regulars who made the two-hour bus ride for the split-squad game, was prepared to face the Red Sox Nation. Giambi said he tuned out the taunts.

Last spring, there was a big buzz for New York’s game in Fort Myers. Aaron Boone’s 11th-inning homer off Tim Wakefield had beaten Boston in Game 7, and the Yankees acquired Alex Rodriguez from Texas after the Sox failed.

Boston upset the usual order last October, becoming the first major league team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a postseason series. Since winning Game 3 of the ALCS, including spring training, the Yankees had been 0-8-1.

With A-Rod, Derek Jeter, and New York’s entire regular pitching staff back in Tampa, the hoopla was down a notch in this game. The uniform numbers of the starting pitchers totaled 156, with Abe Alvarez (79) starting for Boston against Chien-Ming Wang (76). Neither figures to be at Yankee Stadium when these teams play the season opener on April 3 or at Fenway when the World Series flag is raised eight days later.

“Now New Yorkers can’t chant ‘1918!’ anymore,” said former Yankee David Wells.