Morris started the fifth inning by striking out Damon Berryhill, whose home run in Game 1 saddled him with the loss, and forcing Mark Lemke to ground out. Nixon followed with his second hit of the game, then stole his second base of the game to put himself in scoring position. Sanders followed with a single to score Nixon, bringing Pendleton back to the plate. The third baseman followed with another hit that a fan reached over the fence and touched. This forced Sanders, who had rounded third and was on his way to score the Braves' second run of the inning, to return to third base.