New York Belongs to Yankees

NEW YORK — After three draining days, and only by the slimmest of margins, the Yankees became champions of New York.

David Cone took a no-hitter into the seventh inning only to blow the lead on a balk, and the Yankees seemed ready to let the game slip away.

Tino Martinez then broke an 0-for-21 slump with a game-winning single in the 10th, giving the Yankees a 3-2 victory over the Mets on Wednesday in the decisive third game of the first Subway Series in 40 years.

“We can at least brag for 11 months or 12 months,” Yankee catcher Joe Girardi said.

For six innings, it appeared Cone was on his way to a no-hitter.

But that ended in the seventh, when John Olerud doubled to right-center on a 2-and-1 pitch Cone left over the plate.

Olerud took third on Cone’s wild pitch and scored on Carlos Baerga’s groundout. The Mets tied it an inning later when Matt Franco doubled leading off, pinch-runner Steve Bieser advanced on a groundout by Luis Lopez and scored on Cone’s two-out balk. Cone stopped briefly at the top of his windup as he looked over to third.

In the bottom half of the 10th, Greg McMichael (3-6) walked Paul O’Neill with one out and Cecil Fielder singled him to third.

John Franco came in for his first appearance of the series to face Martinez, in an 0-for-21 slump. Martinez sliced an opposite-field liner to left, and Gilkey had no chance to get to it as the winning run scored.

“I felt real relieved, not just to win the game, but to get me going,” Martinez said.