The Braves appeared ready to take a lead in the fifth when Lonnie Smith singled and stole second. Pendleton then followed with a deep fly ball to center field. As Kirby Puckett went back to field it, Smith stopped between the bases to see if Puckett had a chance to catch it. Puckett got under the ball and reached up for it, and Smith reacted by going back to second to tag up since it appeared Puckett had the ball in his reach. But Puckett misjudged the ball and it nicked the top of his glove and fell behind him. Smith took off and tried to score but with his tagging up, it took him slightly longer to get to home plate than he would have taken if he had just stood where he was. As a result, the relay reached Harper before Smith got to the plate. Smith’s only recourse was to try to dislodge the ball from Harper by plowing into him, but Harper held on despite the violent collision and recorded the first out. With Pendleton on third now and Morris having walked Ron Gant, David Justice stood in. Morris threw a pitch that got past Harper, but he was able to recover and tag Pendleton out as he tried to score. The game remained tied through the sixth.