WORLD SERIES : TORONTO BLUE JAYS vs. ATLANTA BRAVES : It’s Like Candy From Reardon : Game 3: Maldonado’s bases-loaded single in ninth gives Toronto a 3-2 victory and a 2-1 edge over Atlanta.

This was about redemption for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The redeemed included third baseman Kelly Gruber, ending a record postseason hitless streak with a game-tying home run; catcher Pat Borders, throwing out an Atlanta runner after watching 25 base stealers run safely by; and left fielder Candy Maldonado, refusing to be embarrassed a third time after two Jeff Reardon curveballs burned him for strikes with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning Tuesday night.

Maldonado lashed the Atlanta reliever’s third successive curveball into center field to score Roberto Alomar and lift the Blue Jays to a 3-2 victory in Game 3 of the World Series before 51,813 who were nearly loud enough to raise the SkyDome’s metal roof at the first Series game played in Canada.

Gruber’s home run against Steve Avery led off the eighth inning and tied the score, 2-2, ending his 0-for-23 streak that had begun in the second game of Toronto’s American League playoff series against Oakland.

There was no redemption for Reardon, who on Sunday yielded Ed Sprague’s two-run home run that helped give the Blue Jays their first victory in this Series. Maldonado’s single gave Toronto a 2-1 edge.

“He made me look bad on the first two pitches, and he probably thought I was looking for a fastball,” Maldonado said. “I guessed right. I wasn’t very successful against him over the years.”

None of that mattered Tuesday, when Reardon, who desperately wanted another chance, got that chance and failed.

“On the first two pitches, he looked pretty bad, so I tried to throw another one in the same spot,” Reardon said. “I thought it was the same location, but the way he hit it, maybe I got it up a bit. I have to see the tape. But I don’t feel bad about trying to throw that type of pitch. . . .

“This is the first time I’ve lost back-to-back games like this. Never done this. Not in games this important, anyway. I hope I’m in there tomorrow night in another tight situation. I don’t feel good about what I’ve done, so maybe I can come back and lift this team again.”

The Blue Jays had so many lifts Tuesday, from the spectacular, wall-bumping catch in the fourth inning by center fielder Devon White that almost became a triple play to Dave Winfield bunting Alomar and Joe Carter along in the ninth inning. Winfield had only one sacrifice bunt during the season, but he executed the play perfectly against Mark Wohlers. The Braves brought in Mike Stanton to intentionally walk pinch-hitter Sprague and load the bases. That set up Maldonado against Reardon.

“That’s the matchup we wanted,” said Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox, who was ejected in the top of the ninth inning for throwing a helmet out of the dugout to dispute home plate umpire Joe West’s ruling that Jeff Blauser swung at a third strike. The play turned into a double play when Borders threw out pinch-runner Brian Hunter attempting to steal second base.

“We’re looking for strikes with the bases loaded,” Cox said. “Not that Mike couldn’t throw strikes. Jeff threw two great sliders (which Reardon said were curveballs) and hung one.”

Maldonado said he swung “too hard” on the first two pitches by Reardon. “Then I just reacted,” Maldonado said. “All I was thinking about was winning the ballgame.”

Because they won, White’s catch took on more significance than merely a clip on a highlight film.

The game was scoreless when Deion Sanders beat out a high chopper to pitcher Juan Guzman and Terry Pendleton singled to center field to put runners on first and second with no one out in the fourth inning. David Justice then lined Guzman’s first pitch to center, sending White back to the wall near the 400-foot sign.

“At first I thought it was out,” Carter said, “but I thought if anyone could catch it, Devo was the one.”

Not only did he catch it, he whirled and threw the ball back to the infield.

Alomar took White’s throw and relayed to first baseman John Olerud, needlessly because Pendleton had already been called out for passing Sanders on the base paths. Olerud threw to Gruber to try to catch Sanders in a rundown between second and third, but second base umpire Bob Davidson said Sanders eluded Gruber’s diving tag and was safe.

“I jumped off stride,” White said, “and when you’re running, you have to keep off your right leg and reach to your left. That’s not the strong leg. I would have to say I never thought about making a catch like that in the World Series, but I knew I was going to catch the ball. My job was to get it back in and prevent Deion Sanders from scoring from second base. As an outfielder, I would feel embarrassed for him scoring all the way from second base.

“Four people did their job tonight: myself, Winfield, Candy and of course, Kelly Gruber.”

Said Gruber: “He (Justice) hit it really hard and Devo made a great play. Terry (Pendleton) caught Sanders and I saw it. . . . I saw Sanders coming back, and I ran him down and hit him in the back of the heel. I thought it was a triple play, but they called him safe.”

Carter gave Guzman a 1-0 lead by lining a letter-high fastball to left field in the fourth inning for his second Series homer.

The Braves scored in the sixth. Sanders doubled to the warning track in right field, took third on a bouncer by Pendleton that Manuel Lee backhanded but couldn’t throw to third in time and scored on a single by Justice past the glove of first baseman Olerud and into right field.

They took the lead in the eighth on an unearned run, manufactured after Nixon reached on a shot that glanced off Gruber’s glove for an error. Nixon stole second, took third on a grounder and scored on Lonnie Smith’s single to left after the Blue Jays had walked Justice intentionally.

But Gruber gave them new life with his home run off Avery, who had a season-high nine strikeouts. “He’d been throwing me a lot of breaking balls, a lot of changeups, and I knew I’d have to make an adjustment,” Gruber said. “He just hung it. In a situation like that, I’m not looking for anything specific.

“After I hit it, I was thinking a lot of things. . . . It was a load off my mind, that’s for sure.”

Winning was on the Blue Jays’ minds in the ninth. Alomar, who was one for 11 in the Series, started the inning with a single to center. “When I saw that, I said, ‘We’re going to do it right here,’ ” Carter said.

Carter walked and Winfield, who said he had sacrificed seven times in 10 years, laid down a perfect bunt played by first baseman Hunter.

After the intentional walk, Reardon came in.

“You want to get into a situation where you can bounce back and I did, but it didn’t happen,” Reardon said. “You can’t second-guess yourself. If you second guess yourself, you only drive yourself crazy.”

With a 2-1 lead and the next two games at home, the Blue Jays were bubbling after Tuesday’s game. “Yeah, I think this gives us the edge,” Winfield said. “This was just a good, old game of baseball--the American game that might be shifting to the Great White North.”

TONIGHT’S GAME 4

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