ATLANTA - Javier Lopez hit 'em out and threw 'em out last night. And now the Cleveland Indians are down and out, unless they can find redemption, and their lost offence, tomorrow in the friendlier confines of Jacobs Field.

Lopez drilled a two-run homer, leading Atlanta to a 4-3 win against Cleveland and a 2-0 lead in the World Series.

The Braves' sophomore catcher also made Manny Ramirez look silly, picking him off first base to snuff an eighth-inning uprising before it had an opportunity to blossom.

Cleveland had six hits, just eight in the two games here. But last night was the most frustrating because Atlanta starter Tom Glavine looked very beatable.

 

He threw first-pitch strikes to just two of the first 16 batters. He gave up just three hits in six innings but, said manager Bobby Cox, "he definitely dodged some bullets. We've won twice, but there hasn't been much difference. It has been close."

The Indians had runners in every inning except the first and third. They just couldn't do anything with them. Eddie Murray did give the Indians a 2-0 lead in the second inning, bashing a two-run homer. But for the second night in a row, they couldn't hold the lead. Dennis Martinez wobbled through 5 2/3 innings. The Braves had eight hits, tying the game with a two-run third inning, then winning it on Lopez's homer in the sixth.

"Dennis struggled the entire game," said Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove in a testy post-game interview. "I didn't see him move his fastball the way he usually does. It wasn't one of his better outings. I didn't say he stunk; just struggling. That's still a lot better than a lot of people at the top of their game."

The defence stunk, though, for both teams. Each committed two errors. Martinez opened the door for the Braves when he hit lead-off man Marquis Grissom in the third. Mark Lemke singled to move Grissom to second. A wild pick-off attempt sent Grissom to third and he scored on Chipper Jones' line drive. David Justice's single brought Lemke home for a 2-2 tie.

Lopez, who had sent Belle to the wall for a fly ball earlier, won it in the sixth. It started when Justice singled and wound up at second because the ball clanked off Belle's glove.

"I thought I had hit the ball out earlier," said Lopez. "(Martinez) threw me a changeup up and over the middle then, and I didn't expect to see the same pitch again, because I know it scared him. But he threw me a fastball in almost the same spot and this time I hit it better.

"It's a great feeling. Everybody wants to be a hero. It's something I'll never forget."
Cleveland got one run back against Greg McMichael in the seventh. But Alejandro Pena left two runners stranded when Belle came within inches of hitting it out of the park ... only to watch Lopez press his glove to the backstop to snare Belle's foul pop-up.

 

"(Pena) faced him only once in the AL and Belle ding-donged him," said Cox. "But that was the big out (last night)."

Unless it was the one Lopez got in the eighth after Ramirez singled with one out.

"When (Ramirez) was on base earlier in the game, Fred (McGriff, first baseman) told me he took a big lead," said Lopez. "I looked over and saw him do it again. Fred gave me the look, so I called a fastball inside and got ready to throw."

Ramirez's dive back came up well short. And it made an ensuing walk to Jim Thome a lot less crucial.
"It's in our scouting report that Lopez likes to throw over there," said Hargrove. "In that spot, you don't want to get picked off. (Ramirez) just got too far off the bag."

So that leaves the Indians' fortunes resting on the pitching shoulder of Game 3 starter Charles Nagy.
"It's going to be as big a test as we've faced in a long time," said Hargrove.