1991 World Series: Game 2

Game 2:

Sunday, October 20, 1991 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	8	1
Minnesota	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	x	3	4	1
WP: Kevin Tapani (1–0) LP: Tom Glavine (0–1) SV: Rick Aguilera (2) Home runs: ATL: None MIN: Chili Davis (1), Scott Leius (1)

Box Score Info. - (read me)

BATTING

Atlanta Braves               AB   R   H RBI      BB  SO      PO   A
Smith dh                      3   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Pendleton 3b                  4   0   2   0       0   1       1   4
Gant cf                       4   0   1   0       0   0       2   0
Justice rf                    4   1   1   0       0   0       1   0
Bream 1b                      4   0   1   0       0   1      12   0
Hunter lf                     3   0   1   1       0   1       0   0
Olson c                       4   1   1   0       0   1       6   0
Lemke 2b                      3   0   0   0       0   1       2   5
  Gregg ph                    1   0   0   0       0   1       0   0
Belliard ss                   2   0   1   1       0   0       0   3
Glavine p                     0   0   0   0       0   0       0   1
Totals                       32   2   8   2       0   6      24  13

FIELDING - 
DP: 2. Pendleton-Bream, Glavine-Lemke-Bream.
E: Justice (1).

BATTING - 
2B: Bream (1,off Tapani); Olson (1,off Tapani).
SH: Smith (1,off Tapani).
SF: Hunter (1,off Tapani); Belliard (1,off Tapani).
Team LOB: 6.

Minnesota Twins              AB   R   H RBI      BB  SO      PO   A
Gladden lf                    4   0   0   0       0   1       5   1
Knoblauch 2b                  3   1   0   0       1   0       1   3
Puckett cf                    4   0   0   0       0   1       2   0
Davis dh                      3   1   1   2       0   0       0   0
Harper c                      2   0   1   0       1   0       7   0
Mack rf                       3   0   0   0       0   2       3   0
Hrbek 1b                      2   0   0   0       1   1       8   2
Leius 3b                      3   1   1   1       0   0       0   2
Gagne ss                      3   0   1   0       0   1       1   2
Tapani p                      0   0   0   0       0   0       0   1
  Aguilera p                  0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
Totals                       27   3   4   3       3   6      27  11

FIELDING - 
E: Leius (1).

BATTING - 
HR: Davis (1,1st inning off Glavine 1 on 2 out); Leius (1,8th inning off Glavine
0 on 0 out).
GDP: Puckett (1,off Glavine); Leius (1,off Glavine).
Team LOB: 3.

PITCHING

Atlanta Braves               IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP
Glavine L(0-1)                8     4   3   1   3   6   2  30

BK: Glavine (1).

Minnesota Twins              IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP
Tapani W(1-0)                 8     7   2   2   0   3   0  31
Aguilera SV(2)                1     1   0   0   0   3   0   4
Totals                        9     8   2   2   0   6   0  35

Umpires: HP - Harry Wendelstedt, 1B - Drew Coble, 2B - Terry Tata, 3B - Rick Reed, 
LF - Ed Montague, RF - Don Denkinger

Time of Game: 2:37   Attendance: 55145

Starting Lineups:

   Atlanta Braves                Minnesota Twins          
1. Smith               dh        Gladden             lf
2. Pendleton           3b        Knoblauch           2b
3. Gant                cf        Puckett             cf
4. Justice             rf        Davis               dh
5. Bream               1b        Harper              c
6. Hunter              lf        Mack                rf
7. Olson               c         Hrbek               1b
8. Lemke               2b        Leius               3b
9. Belliard            ss        Gagne               ss
   Glavine             p         Tapani              p

The pitching match-up featured 1991 National League Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine against the Twins' sixteen-game winner and number two starter, Kevin Tapani.

In the bottom of the first, Dan Gladden lifted a seemingly routine pop-up toward second base. Atlanta fielders Mark Lemke and David Justice miscommunicated and collided with one another as the ball fell from Lemke's glove and Gladden reached second on a two-base error. After a walk to Chuck Knoblauch, Glavine induced Kirby Puckett to ground to third, where Terry Pendleton stepped on the bag to retire Gladden and threw across to Sid Bream to retire Puckett for the double play. The next batter, Chili Davis, then homered off Glavine and gave the Twins an early 2–0 lead.

The Braves got a run back in the top of the second when Justice singled, was doubled to third by Sid Bream, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Greg Olson. Controversy occurred the next inning when Lonnie Smith reached first on an error by Scott Leius. With two outs, Ron Gant ripped a single to left. Smith, playing for a record fourth team in World Series play, tried to beat the throw to third from Gladden. Gladden's throw was wild and Smith was able to take third, but Gant was caught between bases trying to advance on the throw. Tapani caught Gladden's throw and threw back to first. Gant headed back to the base standing up, and in the process he became tangled with Kent Hrbek, who appeared to grab onto his leg and pull him off the base. First base umpire Drew Coble called Gant out. A furious Gant and first base coach Pat Corrales argued to no avail. Coble said (during an interview conducted for the home video recap of the series) that in his view, Gant was not in control of his body when he returned to the base, that his own momentum caused him to get tangled with Hrbek, and that he fell off the base. For his part, Hrbek stated that Gant fell on him and pushed him. This call was ranked as one of the top ten worst baseball calls by both ESPN and Sports Illustrated. Hrbek became a hated figure in Atlanta, was booed lustfully, and would even receive a death threat. In 2011, the Twins celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the controversial play by commissioning a bobblehead doll of Hrbek and Gant entangled, a promotion that proved popular with the Minnesota Twins fans.

The Braves tied the game in the fifth when Olson doubled, advanced to third on a groundout by Lemke, and came home on a sacrifice fly by Rafael Belliard. The game stayed tied until the bottom of the eighth when the unheralded Leius drilled a Glavine pitch into the left-field seats for what proved to be the game-winning home run.

Both starting pitchers stayed in the game through eight innings and were quite effective, giving up just five runs combined (three earned). Rick Aguilera earned the save for the Twins, and the Series headed to Atlanta with the Twins leading two games to none.