July 26, 2003 ... The scene on the field with John Burkett running out, wearing just a cutoff T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, Damian Jackson doing a swan dive on top of the pile engulfing David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez tugging and pushing everyone in a Sox uniform, will be replayed over and over for eternity. Or at least until tomorrow, when the Sox and Yankees play the rubber game of this all-you-could-possibly-ask-for series.

But for Jeremy Giambi, who singled, stole second, and scored the winning run on pinch hitter Ortiz's wall-ball single in another last at-bat decision between these teams, a 5-4 Sox win after the Yankees had climbed back from a 4-0 deficit, the lasting memory may be the visit he received in the Sox clubhouse after striking out in the second inning, boos ringing in his ears as he returned to the dugout.

The night before, Giambi had had his bat broken by Yankees closer Mariano Rivera as he lined weakly to second for the final out of the Sox' 4-3 loss. Tonight, facing Armando Benitez, the former Mets closer who has been a Yankee just 10 days, Giambi ripped a 2-and-2 pitch into right field for a one-out single in the ninth, then broke for second and slid safely just ahead of Jorge Posada's throw on a 3-and-2 pitch to Jason Varitek, who swung and missed for the second out.

Because, Giambi said, he'd been credited with a stolen base under similar circumstances in the 2001 playoffs, when he was playing for Oakland and is best remembered for being tagged out after the slide he didn't make on Derek Jeter's miraculous backhanded flip of an outfield overthrow.

Yankees manager Joe Torre, saving lefty Chris Hammond with extra innings looming and determined not to use Rivera unless the Bombers took the lead, instructed Benitez to walk Johnny Damon, the center fielder whose backhanded, shoestring catch of Jason Giambi's pop fly to shallow center had preserved the tie in the top of the ninth.

Burkett, who was looking at his first regular-season win ever against the Bombers until they tied it with two unearned runs in the eighth with lefty Scott Sauerbeck's throwing error leading to another blown save by Byung Hyun Kim against the Yanks, admitted he was surprised to see Ortiz at the plate. The last time he'd checked, Jackson, who had entered the game as a pinch runner in the eighth, was due to hit. But Sox manager Grady Little, turning to the last left-handed hitter he had on the bench, called upon Ortiz, who fell behind 0 and 2, took a fastball that just missed the outside corner, then launched a ball that struck the wall above the scoreboard in left- center field. Strike up the celebration.

The Sox, who scored three runs in the first off Yankee ace Mike Mussina on a two-run homer by Nomar Garciaparra and RBI double by Trot Nixon and would have had more if Nixon hadn't foolishly strayed past second, added another run on Ramirez's 25th homer to open the fourth. It would have been much easier to exhale had they managed to hold that lead, but would it have been as much fun as their sixth walkoff win of the season and 16th last at-bat win in 2003.

Sox reliever Todd Jones was cuffed around by the Yankees in the seventh, when he gave up a double to pinch hitter Jorge Posada, a two-run single to pinch hitter Ruben Sierra, and a double by Jeter. He was rescued when Wilson was thrown out at the plate on Jeter's double. Trot Nixon cut short the Sox' three-run first inning against Mussina when he strayed into no-man's land after his RBI double made it 3-0 and was easily tagged out.