WORLD SERIES : ATLANTA BRAVES vs. MINNESOTA TWINS : Braves Unfazed by Having Odds Against Them : Game 3: Avery will try to give Atlanta its first victory tonight. Erickson will start for the Twins.

All was quiet at the World Series here Monday, much to the relief of the Atlanta Braves.

Nobody from the Minnesota Twins stole a base or beat out a bloop hit. No infielders with unfamiliar names hit home runs.

And Kent Hrbek did not make a tackle, at least not while anyone was looking.

Things were so quiet, Brave catcher Greg Olson slept until 2:15 p.m. He then hurried to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to offer his teammates, and others, a quick reminder.

A two-games-to-none lead, which is what the Twins have, has been overcome by only 10 of the 41 teams in Series history.

But what is a 24% success figure to a team that has overcome 100-to-1 odds?

“I know not many teams in history have been trailing two games to nothing in a World Series and come back and won,” Olson said. “But until this year, last-place teams had never finished first, right?”

In other words, Olson and the Braves are hoping for one more miracle.

But the Twins would have you believe it is they who need the miracle.

“It don’t get any easier, man,” said Kirby Puckett, who is hitless in eight Series’ at-bats after batting .429 in the playoffs. “Now we are down here, on a different field, against their hard-throwing pitchers. . . . This is going to be a whole different game.”

The Braves hope Puckett remembers that tonight in Game 3 when Steve Avery, Atlanta’spostseason ace, duels the Twins’ 20-game winner, Scott Erickson.

If the Braves win, they have a good chance to even up the series Wednesday in Game 4 with John Smoltz, their second-half ace.

Avery went 2-0 without giving up a run in 16 1/3 playoff innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Smoltz also went 2-0 in the playoffs, giving up three runs in 15 1/3 innings. Since August, Smoltz has gone 10-1.

“We definitely have the right two guys going for us,” Olson said.

The Twins must also play on grass--no more 10-hop singles--and without designated hitter Chili Davis, who will be replaced in the order by pitchers who have not batted in recent memory. National League park, National League rules.

“When you get in against guys throwing 92, 93 m.p.h. who you haven’t seen, there is nobody who can help you,” Puckett said. “You can’t call anybody who will help you, and reports won’t help you. You are all alone.”

The Twins have already counted one batter out.

“There is no way our pitchers will go up there and get a hit,” Manager Tom Kelly said. “Hopefully, they will just not get hurt.”

Avery and Smoltz, however, each had a hit in the playoffs.

“If our pitchers come up in a situation where they have to bunt, maybe they can get the bunt down,” Kelly said. “Hey, it’s hard enough for our regulars to hit Mr. Avery throwing 90 m.p.h.”

It will also be harder for the Twins to work their offense on this grass field, although pitchers Erickson and Jack Morris each hit homers during batting practice Monday.

Even Al Newman, with one home run in 1,861 at-bats, hit a ball over the fence during the workout.

“I’m sure the guy throwing for us today is a lot slower than Avery,” Erickson said tersely. “I’d rather not talk about my hitting. I’m here to pitch.”

Avery wanted to talk about the Twins’ hitting, which was no great shakes against Brave pitching on artificial turf. The Twins batted .228 in two games at Minneapolis, with Puckett, Dan Gladden and Shane Mack going hitless in 21 at-bats.

“In a series like this, the home field will definitely be an advantage,” Avery said.”Grass will make a difference for them.”

The Twins have not played a game on grass in 19 days. During the regular season, they had a .606 winning percentage on artificial turf, and a .565 winning percentage on grass. They also batted 26 points higher on artificial turf.

Best example: Chuck Knoblauch. The rookie second baseman batted .308 on turf, .241 on grass.

“My game is line drives and ground balls, and sometimes those don’t get through on grass,” Knoblauch said.

And the Twins have never won a World Series game on the road in six attempts.

These Twins might be reminded of that trend tonight while staring around at a stadium filled with chanting fans chopping their arms at them.

“I’ve seen that chop, but they can’t do that the whole game, can they?” Knoblauch asked. “I mean, can they?”

The Braves are batting .226 in this series. Since scoring 10 runs in Game 3 of the playoffs, they have scored 11 runs in the last 54 postseason innings, or 1.8 runs per game.

So when asked whether his comeback team actually had the Twins right where they wanted them, Brave veteran Jeff Blauser shook his head.

“Nope,” he said. “I haven’t heard that mentioned.”