IT'S ICE-LOCKED AT 2-2; CLEVELAND BATS UNDERGO THAW IN GAME 4 WIN : CLEVELAND 10, FLORIDA 3.

Byline: Ben Walker Associated Press 

The fourth game of the World Series had all the intriguing elements: snow, wind, record cold . . . and a well-timed warming trend for Matt Williams.

Williams and Manny Ramirez homered as the Cleveland Indians beat the Florida Marlins 10-3 to even the Series at 2-2 Wednesday, on a night that surely produced memorable moments for the Weather Channel - if not for World Series history.

On an evening when flurries fell at Jacobs Field, the only thing that accumulated were runs by the Indians. Sandy Alomar had three of the Indians' 15 hits and drove in three runs, while Williams, with a two-run homer in the eighth, made sure the Marlins would not come back as they had the night before.

Williams hit just .125 in the 1989 Series for San Francisco and opened this Series 4 for 14 without an extra base hit.

Cleveland's hitting prowess ensured that the Series will return to Miami this weekend.

It will surely be warmer at Pro Player Stadium than it was for this brand of winter ball in Cleveland. The 38 degrees at the start made it the coldest since World Series temperatures have been recorded since 1975, and snow fell for the first time in the Fall Classic since Game 1 in 1979 at Baltimore.

The weather, though, had little impact on this game, played a night after the Marlins rallied for a 14-11 win. The Indians took a 6-0 lead after three innings and 21-year-old Jaret Wright made it stand up.

``That was important to get going early in the game,'' said Williams, who went 3 for 3 with two walks. ``That goes back to putting pressure on the other team.

``That was huge. That set the tone from the beginning.''

Wright outpitched Tony Saunders in a matchup of rookie starters as the Indians won before a crowd of 44,877 bundled against an 18-degree wind-chill factor.

``We didn't get off on the right foot,'' Marlins manager Jim Leyland said. ``We made a little run there. We just couldn't stop the bleeding.''

Game 5 will be played tonight, and the forecast calls for temperatures in the 40s and rain. Former Dodgers World Series star Orel Hershiser will start for the Indians against rookie Livan Hernandez in a rematch of Game 1, won by Florida.

Despite the Indians setting a franchise postseason record for hits, Marquis Grissom had none. He went 0 for 4 and ended his 15-game hitting streak, two short of the Series record held by Hank Bauer.

Wright improved to 3-0 in the postseason. The cool customer gave up three runs and five hits in six innings and is now 9-0 when pitching after an Indians loss - not bad for someone who started the year in Double-A.

``When you score 10 runs, three in the first, it's a game of momentum,'' Wright said.

Former Angels starter Brian Anderson finished with three scoreless innings of relief for a save.

Saunders, 23, did not survive the third inning in the sixth meeting of rookie starters in Series history (first since Philadelphia's Charles Hudson faced Baltimore's Mike Boddicker in 1983).

Marlins starters, meanwhile, have a 9.33 ERA in the first four games.

The unusual weather was the focus before the game. The Indians took batting practice in snow showers as the stadium sound system played ``Winter Wonderland'' and ``Jingle Bell Rock,'' among others.

Many fans wrapped themselves in heavy gear once reserved for Cleveland Browns games, and one spectator behind the Indians dugout held a sign that proclaimed ``Not In Our Igloo.''

The snow did not seem to affect play, however. It was nothing like Game 3, when the blustery conditions contributed to 17 walks and six errors in Florida's wacky win.

Cleveland scored in the first inning for the fourth straight game. Saunders struck out leadoff batter Bip Roberts, but it was all downhill for the young lefty after that.

Omar Vizquel singled and Ramirez followed by going the opposite way for his fourth home run of the postseason, a drive into the right-field stands.

The crowd got another chance to let loose moments later when Williams singled with two outs and scored on Alomar's double, making a neat hook slide to avoid catcher Charles Johnson's swipe tag.

Florida, which committed half of the six errors in Tuesday night's game, made two wild throws in a three-run third that finished Saunders.

Ramirez drew a leadoff walk and moved up on Saunders' poor pickoff attempt. David Justice got an infield single that shortstop Edgar Renteria threw away when his back foot slipped on the dirt, and Alomar added an RBI single.

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3 Photos

Photo: (1--colorr) Cleveland's Matt Williams eludes the tag of Florida's Charles Johnson to score from first on Sandy Alomar Jr.'s single in the first inning.

(2) Florida's Gary Sheffield flings his bat away after striking out to end the third inning.

(3) Cleveland's Manny Ramirez connects for a two-run homer in the first to give the Indians a quick lead.

Associated Press