Alan Embree sits alone in the dugout after giving it up to the Giants in the eighth. The Sox rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the top half of the inning on a Trot Nixon two-run bloop single with bases loaded and a Bonds error. The tie was short-lived as Edgardo Alfonzo took Embree deep with a runner on in the bottom of the inning.
The rally in the eighth got Martinez off the hook for the loss. Pedro, who apparently used the first inning to warm up, pitched well after spotting 4 runs to the Giants in the first. Five of the six hits he surrendered came in the first, and he gave up no more runs after the opening disaster. In the much-anticipated Martinez-Bonds match-up, Pedro went right after him and beat him each of his three at-bats, once with a strike-out and twice with fly ball outs.
Ortiz had a one-out single in the ninth but was thrown out going to second. As quickly as the Sox gained a game, they gave it back. The Yanks rookie pitcher Brad Halsey won his first major league game, beating the Dodgers 6-2. Hideo Nomo looked just a step above mediocre giving up four earned runs, the killer blow being a first inning three-run homer by Matsui.
