AL 6, NL 3

ATLANTA (AP) â€” Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones would gladly do this all over again in October. <br><br>With most of baseball's biggest names out of the lineup because of injuries, the All-Star game

Wednesday, July 12th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) â€” Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones would gladly do this all over again in October.

With most of baseball's biggest names out of the lineup because of injuries, the All-Star game Tuesday night turned into another version of Yankees vs. Braves.

And guess which side won?

Just like the 1996 and 1999 World Series, Jeter's team wound up on top. The New York shortstop went 3-for-3 â€” as did the Atlanta third baseman â€” and led the American League to a 6-3 win.

``That really is a shocker. Derek Jeter stealing all the headlines,'' Jones joked. ``It's good to see no one else in the National League can get him out, either.''

Joe Torre won again in his managerial matchup with Bobby Cox as the AL took its fourth in a row and 10th in 13 games.

Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds and Mike Piazza were missing from the middle of the NL order because of injuries, leaving the game a little short on juice.

Those juiced-up balls that everyone has been talking about were in short supply, too. While Jones thrilled the home crowd at Turner Field with a home run, there weren't many other long drives.

There were, however, seven foul popups for outs, one of them that AL first baseman Carlos Delgado grabbed before it could almost land in former President Jimmy Carter's lap.

Jeter became the first Yankees player ever to win the All-Star MVP award. After the game, his bat was already on its way to the Hall of Fame.

Jeter hit .353 against the Braves in last year's World Series. Last month, he tied his career high with four hits in a game at Turner Field.

``We played some very important big games here against the Braves, obviously in the postseason, regular season, now this game here,'' he said.

``Our team has been successful here. Maybe we seem to focus a bit more.''

Said Torre: ``It's a very, very proud time for the New York Yankees because their future did a good thing tonight.''

Jeter and Jones may get another chance to meet in the Fall Classic, rather than the Midsummer Classic â€” as both of their teams went into the break in first place.

James Baldwin got the victory and Al Leiter took the loss as the AL cut its overall deficit to 40-30-1. The AL broke open the game with three runs in the ninth, highlighted by Matt Lawton's single.

Jeter, starting because good friend Alex Rodriguez was injured, doubled off Randy Johnson in the first inning, then singled and scored against Kevin Brown in the third. His two-run single in the fourth put the AL ahead 3-1 and came against Leiter in a reprise of last weekend's Subway Series.

``We've been watching that ever since he came to the big leagues,'' Cox said.

Jones did his best to make the 51,323 fans forget that Cal Ripken, Manny Ramirez and Greg Maddux also were sidelined.

Jones became the 13th player to hit a home run in his own park at an All-Star game, connecting off Baldwin in the third. He also singled twice, one of them off starter David Wells.

The last time the All-Stars visited Atlanta in 1972, Hank Aaron also homered for the hometown Braves. Aaron threw out the ceremonial first ball this time and received a warm welcome.

The biggest ovation, by far, went to Andres Galarraga. The Braves first baseman, who missed last season while recovering from cancer surgery, got a standing ovation when he was introduced, and later rewarded his rooters with a single.

``Probably no words to explain how happy, how excited I am feeling,'' Galarraga said.

Andruw Jones of the Braves also did well, delivering an RBI single.

Still, with a record seven starters unable to play, Maddux hurt and 1999 All-Star MVP Pedro Martinez not even on the roster because of an injury, this summer showcase was minus some sizzle.

The seven missing starters were batting a combined .301 with 160 home runs this season and had totaled 66 All-Star appearances.

Johnson threw only eight pitches in working a perfect first inning. Then again, he threw 121 Sunday while striking out 13 as Arizona beat Oakland.

The AL took a 1-0 lead in the third when Brown walked three batters, including Carl Everett with the bases loaded. Jones tied it with his opposite-field homer in the bottom half.

An error by Barry Larkin set up Jeter's two-run single in the fourth. Playing in his third All-Star game and making his first start, Jeter had never gotten a hit in these affairs â€” he had struck out in his previous two at-bats.

The AL tacked on three runs in the ninth off Trevor Hoffman on Lawton's RBI single, Magglio Ordonez's sacrifice fly and Darin Erstad's RBI grounder, a ball misplayed by second baseman Jose Vidro for an error.

An error by Nomar Garciaparra set up Steve Finley's RBI single off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth. Garciaparra, Jeter's replacement, became the first shortstop to make two errors in an All-Star game.

Notes: Torre joined Tony La Russa and Tommy Lasorda as the only managers to win their first three All-Star games. Cox is 1-4. ... This All-Star game originally was awarded to Miami. But uncertainty over the Florida Marlins' franchise prompted baseball officials to move it to Atlanta. ... Next year's All-Star game will be at Safeco Field in Seattle. Miller Park in Milwaukee and Comiskey Park in Chicago will play host to the following two games. ... This also was the first All-Star game without league presidents, those positions having been done away with. And there were no AL or NL umpires this time, either. All umpires are now considered major league umpires.