Smith, Harper Have Reunion at Home Plate : Game 4: Ex-teammates collide when Braves’ runner tries to score from second and Twins’ catcher has the ball waiting.

ATLANTA —  He had only a few seconds to size up the situation, and the answer was clear but unpleasant.

There was no way out, no way the Braves’ Lonnie Smith could see to avoid a collision with Minnesota catcher Brian Harper, a friend and former teammate, if Smith was going to score from second base on Terry Pendleton’s fifth-inning fly ball over Kirby Puckett’s head in center field.

Because Smith didn’t get a good jump off second, there was only one choice. He made it without hesitation, barreling into Harper and drawing gasps from the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium crowd of 50,878.

“I couldn’t go around him because he was in front of the plate,” Smith said, “and I couldn’t go under him because he was down. So I had to go right at him.

“My next trip up to the plate he said it was the hardest he’d ever been hit. I said, ‘Don’t feel so bad. I don’t feel that good myself.’ ”

Smith, at least, had a victory to show for his bruises. Although he didn’t score on that play, he pulled the Braves even with his two-out home run in the seventh inning, a vital contribution to the 3-2 Atlanta victory that tied the World Series at two games each.

Even Smith’s teammates winced as they watched replays of the bone-jarring collision.

“I tell you, Lonnie is a quality ballplayer,” first baseman Sid Bream said. “You’ve got to love him on your team. He’s never going to be lackadaisical.”

There was nothing lackadaisical about Smith’s collision with Harper, but the catcher bore no grudge.

“It was a good, clean hit,” said Harper, who was bowled over by the impact but managed to hold onto the ball. “I hadn’t gotten hit like Lonnie Smith hit me since I got sacked in high school, and I got sacked a lot in high school.”

Smith, who became the Braves’ left fielder after Otis Nixon was suspended for drug abuse on Sept. 16, couldn’t decide if he hit Harper harder than he hit his homer, a high drive off the black backdrop behind the center field fence.

“It was the first time I ever collided with anybody like that,” said Smith, who had singled and stolen second. “The mistake was made when Terry hit the ball. My instinct was to go one-third, maybe halfway, because Kirby appeared to have a shot to catch it. I was going back to the bag to tag up, and when I got a couple steps from the bag, I saw he wasn’t going to catch it, so I tried to kick in some speed.

“Once I rounded third, I tried to kick in whatever speed I had left, because I was pretty gassed. Jimy (Williams, the third base coach) gave me the signal to keep going, and about halfway, I saw Brian catch the ball. He was in front of the plate, so the only way possible was to go through him. I played with Brian over in St. Louis (in 1985), and I know he’s a tough player, a very strong young man--as I found out firsthand.”

Smith is proving himself tough. After not hitting a home run in his first 22 World Series games, he ended an 0-for-8 streak with a homer off Scott Erickson Tuesday and made it a virtual spree by homering Wednesday on Carl Willis’ first pitch to him in the seventh inning.

“I thought it was out, but I didn’t know for sure until I got to first base,” Smith said. “I can’t explain why I’m hitting homers. It just happens.”

Smith, the first player to participate in four World Series with four different teams, said he is enjoying his experience with the Braves more than any of the previous three.

“This one is more exciting because there’s so many young players here,” said Smith, who earned championship rings with the 1980 Phillies, 1982 Cardinals and 1985 Royals. “And it’s exciting because I didn’t expect to play much here, especially after I had knee surgery (an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in March). Even prior to me playing a lot, it still was fun.”

The most fun would be to have a ring for every finger on whichever hand he chose, but Smith was cautious after the Braves’ second successive home victory.

“We’re fortunate we managed to pull this one out and even up the Series,” he said. “I don’t expect it to be any easier from here. I don’t know if we have momentum now. It’s just more comfortable and relaxing to play at home. We’re still having trouble scoring runs, but the pitching’s been consistent. If we continue to play like this, we’re going to excite the world, these two ballclubs.”