of the Braves' regular-season closer, Alejandro Peña. Peña had been 13 for 13 in save opportunities since joining the Braves in a late-season trade with the Mets, but he had not pitched since the previous Wednesday. Chili Davis, pinch hitting for pitcher Steve Bedrosian, took advantage of this and hit a home run to tie the game. The game remained tied into extra innings, and a series of substitutions and double switches turned the game on its ear. Kelly exhausted the remaining players on his bench by the eleventh inning, and entering the twelfth he was down to only three remaining players, all pitchers. Of those three, Rick Aguilera was the only one who was available to play; the other two were his other two starters, Jack Morris and Kevin Tapani. The top of the twelfth began with Mark Wohlers on the mound for the Braves. After he retired Randy Bush on a fly out, Gladden reached on a single. Knoblauch followed with a ground ball to second that would likely have resulted in a double play, but Lemke misplayed it and it rolled between his legs. Gladden was able to advance to third on the error, and with the go-ahead run in scoring position, Braves manager Bobby Cox brought in Kent Mercker to pitch. While all of this was going on, Aguilera was warming up in the Twins’ bullpen. On the CBS television broadcast, Tim McCarver noted that the pitcher’s spot was due in two batters. Kent Hrbek was the batter, and McCarver theorized that if Mercker retired Hrbek, Cox would elect to walk the on deck hitter, Kirby Puckett, if Knoblauch and Gladden were still on base, and force Kelly to decide to use Aguilera as a pinch hitter for pitcher Mark Guthrie. On the fourth pitch of the at bat, with Knoblauch running to avoid a potential double play, Hrbek struck out looking. Cox brought in Jim Clancy to pitch to Puckett and, just as McCarver had thought, put him on intentionally to load the bases. With his hand forced, Kelly summoned Aguilera from the bullpen to pinch hit. Aguilera had some previous success as a hitter, and had in fact come up as an infielder, but he had not had any at bats since he played with the New York Mets in 1989. On the third pitch of the at-bat he flied out to deep center