What followed proved to be the first in a costly series of events for the Braves. With Pendleton up, manager Bobby Cox called for a hit and run and Smith took off. Pendleton responded by hitting a deep fly ball into the gap in left center field on a 1-2 pitch for a double, and with the hit and run called Smith likely would have scored. However, as he rounded second Smith stopped running for a moment and ended up having to stop at third base after the relay throw reached the infield. The middle of the Twins’ infield, Knoblauch at second and Greg Gagne at shortstop, feigned like they were going to start a double play, and some thought Smith might have fallen for it. Smith himself later denied this, saying that he had been following the trajectory of the ball and wanted to see if either Puckett in center field or Gladden in left would catch the ball.