Despite a legitimate scare in the ninth, the Cleveland Indians hold on to defeat the Atlanta Braves, 5-4, in Game 5 of the World Series to delay their season’s end by one more game. It was the final game to be played at Jacobs Field that season with a total of 43,595 in attendance for the two hour and 33 minute contest.

The Braves held a 3-2 edge after the defeat in the best-of-seven series as the games shifted back to Atlanta.

A two-run home run by Albert Belle in the first off of Greg Maddux started the Indians scoring after a one-out walk from Omar Vizquel gave Cleveland their first base runner of the game. Atlanta’s Luis Polonia led off the fourth with a home run off of Orel Hershiser to cut the lead in half and outfielder Marquis Grissom knocked in an unearned run on an infield single in the fifth.

The Indians would reclaim the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth on back-to-back RBI singles by Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez to score Carlos Baerga and Belle, respectively, after their double and intentional walk. A solo shot from Thome in the eighth off of reliever Brad Clontz wrapped the Indians runs for the night.

Fred McGriff hit a one-out double in the ninth and, one batter later, Ryan Klesko hit a two-run home run off of Jose Mesa to make it a one run game, but Mesa bounced back to strike out Mark Lemke looking to end it.

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Two years later, the results would be far less positive for the Tribe as Mesa would blow a 2-1 lead with one out in the bottom of the ninth in Game 7 of the 1997 Fall Classic before the Florida Marlins won the game and the series in an error-aided bottom of the eleventh on a walk-off bases loaded single from Edgar Renteria.