Braves Undone by a Catcher-22 : Game 2: After winning two key games with ninth-inning hits by backup receivers, Atlanta watches it happen again as the Blue Jays win, 5-4.

The Atlanta Braves were cruising along toward a second consecutive victory in the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday when they suddenly encountered the most dangerous creature of this postseason:

A backup catcher.

What happened next taught the Braves what it’s like to watch somebody hit a game-winning home run and not be able to move.

This time, the surprise was on them.

Ed Sprague, in his first World Series plate appearance, hit a one-out, two-run home run against Jeff Reardon in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Blue Jays a 5-4 victory and evening the Series at one game apiece.

“The guy didn’t concentrate on Sprague, and threw it right down the middle,” Blue Jay second baseman Roberto Alomar said with a smile. “The guy forgot, these are the kinds of players who hurt you in the postsesason: The players with no names.”

Before 51,763 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, the homer ruined another good postseason performance by John Smoltz and a running game led by surprise starter Deion Sanders.

It also ruined the night of a DiamondVision operator who was so confident of a Braves victory, the scoreboard showed a video of Francisco Cabrera’s playoff heroics last week before the end of the game.

But with Ron Gant on second base and Sanders on first in the ninth, Cabrera was nowhere to be found. Terry Pendleton swung at the first pitch from Tom Henke and hit a high foul pop to third baseman Kelly Gruber to end an eight-game Series winning streak by home teams.

When asked if anyone thought Sprague would have followed in the steps of Cabrera and Damon Berryhill by winning this game, Dave Winfield laughed.

“What can you say? Did they think Francisco Cabrera was going to get a hit?” he said. “This time of year, we know anything can happen. Hey, it can even snow in Toronto.”

Even though the Blue Jays play indoors, the Braves will feel the chill beginning with Game 3 on Tuesday.

Juan Guzman, who has won 12 of 15 decisions in the SkyDome will face the Braves’ Steve Avery, who had a 9.00 earned-run average in three playoff appearances.

“Everything is different now,” Alomar said. “We were not comfortable on this field. They will not be comfortable on our field. We can win there.”

Sprague put it a different way.

“It will be a little bit shorter flight for us,” he said.

It would have been a much shorter night for the Braves if Reardon, baseball’s all-time saves leader, didn’t give up as many earned runs on one swing as he had in 15 2/3 innings with the Braves during the regular season.

“It was pretty tough to have this happen in the World Series,” he said.

Reardon was coming off a big final out in the eighth inning, when he struck out Kelly Gruber with runners on first and third after the Blue Jays had scored once to close to 4-3.

But after retiring Pat Borders to start the ninth, Reardon walked pinch-hitter Derek Bell with two consecutive balls, making the count two and two.

They were both bad pitches, because Bell acknowledged he was nervous enough to swing at almost anything.

“It’s the same home plate, same mound, everything is the same as the regular season . . . except the whole world is watching,” Bell said. “I just told myself, ‘hang in there.’ ”

That’s what Sprague was telling himself earlier in the game as he was throwing baseballs against a concrete wall underneath the stadium, trying to stay warm in temperatures that hovered at 50 degrees.

This was a long way from Syracuse, where Sprague had spent most of the season. When he stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter for Duane Ward, he had one home run in 22 regular-season games for the Blue Jays and had batted only twice in the playoffs.

“I had dreamed about this happening,” Sprague said. “But thinking that the dream would ever come true is a different story.”

While the Blue Jays jumped around in their dugout, Kristen Babb-Sprague cried in the stands.

“Just bawled,” said Babb-Sprague, the catcher’s wife. “It happened so fast. It was so emotional for everybody.”

Babb-Sprague, an Olympic gold medalist in solo synchronized swimming this summer in Barcelona, had spent the last month watching her husband criticized in Canada for supporting her after Canadians cried foul.

Sylvie Frechette, one of Canada’s synchronized swimmers, had finished second in Barcelona after a questionable judges’ ruling.

“Maybe this will make everything better for him. I sure hope so,” Babb-Sprague said. “I know I was much happier for him than I was for myself.”

Sprague became the 17th player to hit a pinch-hit home run in the World Series, and the 23rd player to homer in his first Series at-bat.

Smoltz, who is still unbeaten in eight Series starts, had given up two earned runs in 7 1/3 innings.

The only time he unraveled was when adhesive tape on his glove hand was forcibly removed because it created a distraction for batters. This happened with the Braves leading, 2-0, in the fifth inning. Four batters later, the Blue Jays had tied the score on a walk and three singles.

Smoltz still believed he had a victory because of Sanders’ display of speed in the bottom of the fifth. Sanders, who started in place of Ron Gant because Sanders had a .600 average against starter David Cone, singled, stole second and took third on catcher Pat Borders’ throwing error.

After Cone walked Pendleton, David Justice singled to right to score one run and Brian Hunter’s fly ball against reliever David Well scored another run.

But then it was Alomar’s time to get even. Home plate umpire Mike Reilley erroneously called him out during the fourth inning when Alomar tried to score on a pitch by Smoltz that bounced in the dirt.

Alomar, sliding head-first, appeared to have touched home plate while sliding left hand first before Smoltz tagged him on the throw from Berryhill.

Alomar argued, then waited four innings before leading off the eighth with a double and scoring on Winfield’s hit to close the gap to 4-3, setting up Sprague’s moment.

“The Braves may have thought that their momentum from that Game 7 with the Pittsburgh Pirates would carry them through this whole series,” Winfield said. “Now you see, it won’t. That momentum has been aborted. And we’re starting to feel a little bit of it.”

In a Pinch

Pinch-hit home runs in the World Series:

* Yogi Berra, New York Yankees Oct. 2, 1947, 7th inning

* Johnny Mize, New York Yankees Oct. 3, 1952, 9th inning

* George Shuba, Brooklyn Dodgers Sept. 30, 1953, 6th inning

* Dusty Rhodes, New York Giants Sept. 29, 1954, 10th inning

* Henry Majeski, Cleveland Indians Oct. 2, 1954, 5th inning

* Robert Cerv, New York Yankees Oct. 2, 1955, 7th inning

* Charles Essegian, Dodgers Oct. 2, 1959, 7th inning

* Charles Essegian, Dodgers Oct. 8, 1959, 9th inning

* Elston Howard, New York Yankees Oct. 5, 1960, 9th inning

* John Blanchard, New York Yankees Oct. 7, 1961, 8th inning

* Bernie Carbo, Boston Red Sox Oct. 14, 1975, 7th inning

* Bernie Carbo, Boston Red Sox Oct. 21, 1975, 8th inning

* Jay Johnstone, Dodgers Oct. 24, 1981, 6th inning

* Kirk Gibson, Dodgers Oct. 15, 1988, 9th inning

* Bill Bathe, San Francisco Giants Oct. 27, 1989, 9th inning

* Chili Davis, Minnesota Twins Oct. 22, 1991, 8th inning

* Ed Sprague, Toronto Blue Jays Oct. 18, 1992, 9th inning

First Impressions

A list of players who hit home runs in their first World Series at-bat:

PLAYER TEAM YEAR Joe Harris Senators 1925 George Watkins Cardinals 1930 Mel Ott Giants 1933 George Selkirk Yankees 1936 Dusty Rhodes Giants 1954 Elston Howard Yankees 1955 Roger Maris Yankees 1960 Don Mincher Twins 1965 Brooks Robinson Orioles 1966 Jose Santiago Red Sox 1967 Mickey Lolich Tigers 1968 Don Buford Orioles 1969 Gene Tenace A’s 1972 Jim Mason Yankees 1976 Doug DeCinces Orioles 1979 Amos Otis Royals 1980 Bob Watson Yankees 1981 Jim Dwyer Orioles 1983 Mickey Hatcher Dodgers 1988 Jose Canseco Athletics 1988 Bill Bathe Giants 1989 Eric Davis Reds 1990 Ed Sprague Jays 1992

OTHER COVERAGE

* NOT SAVED BY THE BELL: Relief ace Jeff Reardon of the Braves says walking Derek Bell was the key to the Blue Jays’ ninth-inning surge. C12

* A LITTLE GAMESMANSHIP: After a fourth-inning play at home plate, John Smoltz wore tape on his left wrist until Cito Gaston protested. C12

* INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT: When a color guard flew the Canadian flag upside down, phones rang in Toronto and baseball apologized. C12