The Lead Stays the Same but Season Gets Shorter : Braves: Justice’s homer off Dibble in the ninth leads Atlanta to 7-6 victory after Reds take 6-0 lead in the first.

David Justice capped the Atlanta Braves’ most improbable comeback of their pennant-race surge with the most meaningful homer of his career.

And in their joy Tuesday night, the Braves sensed fate was on their side in the NL West race.

The Braves gave up six runs in the first inning, but Justice hit a one-out, two-run homer off Rob Dibble in the ninth inning for a 7-6 victory over Cincinnati. The Braves remained a game behind the Dodgers.

When Alejandro Pena got Barry Larkin on a called third strike to end the game, the Braves streamed out of the dugout with arms raised, some riding piggyback in celebration.

“Any time you’re in first place or fighting for it, you’ve got to have games like this,” said Manager Bobby Cox, who repeatedly shook his head in disbelief. “You’ve got to have yourshare of them.”

“I think somebody wants us to win this thing other than our teammates,” Greg Olson said.

Of the Braves’ four last-inning comeback victories, this one faced the longest odds.

The Reds scored six runs in the first inning, highlighted by Joe Oliver’s first grand slam. The Braves faced big odds against a comeback at that point--Cincinnati starter Jose Rijo was unbeaten at Riverfront Stadium this season.

But Atlanta used a couple of ragged plays by Mariano Duncan, making his first start in center field, to get within a run at 6-5 in the seventh. Then Justice did the rest.

Dibble (3-5) came on in the ninth and gave up a leadoff single to Mark Lemke. Deion Sanders pinch-ran and stole second--his second stolen base during his dual role as NFL cornerback and baseball player.

One out later, Justice came to bat and pulled his 21st homer deep over the right-field wall, only the fourth that Dibble has given up this season, to keep the heat on the Dodgers.

For Dibble, it was his fifth blown save in six chances. He also blew one against the Braves Aug. 21, when Francisco Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the ninth to set up a 10-9 victory.

What were the odds of rallying from a 6-0 deficit against Rijo and then beating Dibble again on a ninth-inning homer?

“About a billion to one,” Justice said.

No wonder the Braves were celebrating as though they had just taken first place away from L.A.

“It’s tough enough to do one time against Dibble,” Olson said. “To do it twice is such a great feat. It’s hard for you to understand and hard for us to understand. It’s something you just don’t do against the best relief pitcher in the game. You certainly don’t do it twice.”

Mike Stanton (5-5), the fourth Brave pitcher, got the victory by retiring the four batters he faced. Pena pitched the ninth for his 13th save.

The Braves have won five in a row, rallying three times and winning one in 13 innings at Houston.

Duncan, filling in for the Reds’ injury-depleted outfield, misplayed Tommy Gregg’s fly ball into an RBI double with two out in the fourth. Jerry Willard then singled to cut it to 6-2.

Terry Pendleton hit a solo homer, one of his four hits, in the fifth inning, and the Braves took advantage of NL President Bill White’s intervention to nearly break through in the seventh.

Jeff Treadway singled and Lonnie Smith walked, chasing Rijo. That’s when White’s decision to activate left-hander Norm Charlton for the series finally came into play. Charlton had been suspended for intentionally throwing at Mike Scioscia of the Dodgers on Sept. 9, appealed, then dropped his appeal. But White ruled Charlton had to play this week.

Lemke singled over Duncan’s head in center to score Treadway, with Duncan getting a late break on the ball. Pendleton then singled off Larkin’s glove at shortstop to drive in Smith with the Braves’ fifth run.

Atlanta managed to overcome another big night by Oliver, the Braves’ chief nemesis this season. Six of the catcher’s 11 homers and 21 of his 42 RBIs this season are against Atlanta.