BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Gaston Provides Own Turning Point

It might have been lost amid the drama of Ed Sprague’s pinch-hit home run during the ninth inning, the anonymous Sprague being synonymous with Francisco Cabrera and Damon Berryhill, the two most recent heroes of the postseason.

It might have been buried under the Game 2 rubble that included 11 walks, three errors, three wild pitches, one hit batter, a blown save by the all-time save leader, questionable umpiring and an upside down Canadian flag held by a U.S. Marine that created shock waves in Canada and prompted an apology by major league baseball.

It was , however, a turning point in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves that evened the World Series at a game apiece Sunday night.

And it was a victory within a victory for Toronto Manager Cito Gaston, an interpretation disputed by John Smoltz, the Atlanta pitcher.

“If his aim was to upset my rhythm, he didn’t,” Smoltz said. “It had no bearing on me.”

This is a Series that the Braves must win with pitching. They are unlikely to beat the Blue Jays in a slugging match, the type of game that gets out of hand--as this one did.

Tom Glavine did the job for Atlanta in the 3-1 opener.

Smoltz was on his way to doing it in Game 2.

He had stretched his streak of World Series scoreless innings to 11 1/3. He had given up only one hit, led 2-0 and had two out in the fifth when Gaston emerged from the dugout to converse with plate umpire Mike Reilly and complain about tape Smoltz was wearing on his left wrist.

Smoltz put the tape on after the Toronto fourth, during which he had raced to the plate, took a flip from catcher Berryhill retrieving an errant pitch and applied the tag to Roberto Alomar, who was attempting to score from third.

Alomar slid headfirst, extended his left arm and appeared to reach the plate ahead of the tag only to have Reilly rule otherwise, much to the chagrin of Alomar and Gaston.

“My wrist was a little tender from the contact, so we put the tape on to control it,” Smoltz said later.

“It was a tan tape, but Cito felt it a distraction to his hitters. I mean, if a hitter is looking at my left wrist, he can’t possibly hit the ball. I can’t see making a big deal out of it, but managers try everything. I can’t stand here and say it was weak, because it was just a thing managers do.”

Said Gaston: “After the play at the plate when our man was safe--and I emphasize safe --he came out wearing a white tape on his left wrist. Maybe that’s OK in his league, but it’s not in ours. I was only trying to protect our hitters.”

The perception was that Gaston was also trying to disrupt Smoltz’s rhythm, play a little mind game with a pitcher who has his psychologist, Jack Llewellyn, sit behind home plate in a red shirt or jacket to remind Smoltz of certain mental keys during almost every home game and many on the road.

Reilly responded to Gaston’s appeal and ordered Smoltz to remove the tape. The delay was brief, but Smoltz failed to get the third out before yielding the tying runs on a walk to Mike Borders and singles by Manny Lee, pitcher David Cone and Devon White.

Smoltz shook his head. “My rhythm was fine,” he said. “I mean, Lee got a broken-bat hit and White an infield chopper that was a tough play for (Mark) Lemke. The walk to Borders didn’t bother me, but I should never have got behind Cone 3 and 0. Even I feel I can get a hit when I’m ahead 3 and 0.

“The mistake I made was in not attacking when I had the two outs, but it had nothing to do with what Cito did. I think his only intention was to protect his hitters. It had no bearing on me. What happened was just me.”

Smoltz put the tape back on after the inning and had the trainer darken it with shoe polish. He regained his rhythm and shut out the Blue Jays until the seventh, when a double by Alomar and singles by Joe Carter and Dave Winfield cut a 4-2 Atlanta lead to one.

Smoltz left in favor of Mike Stanton, who would leave in favor of Jeff Reardon, who would give up the two-run homer to Sprague during the ninth that prevented Smoltz from going 5-0 in the postseason and deprived him of his first World Series victory despite an earned-run average of 1.66 in three career starts.

Smoltz was in the trainer’s room icing his shoulder and listening on the radio when he heard Sprague take it away from him. He said there would be no scars, but added:

“I’d love to feel good about the way I pitched, but I can’t. The frustrating part is that I have to wait three more days before pitching again. Jeff can go back out there Tuesday and put this one behind him.

“I give Toronto credit. They’re the type hitters that put the ball in play. They scrap. We knew coming in that if we didn’t knock them out when we had the chance, they could hurt you.”

They did, although Smoltz would argue as to how much he was hurt by their manager.