Scott Brosius hit two home runs, including a three-run shot in the eighth inning, to bring the New York Yankees within one win of a sweep of the World Series with a 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

"This is the type of thing that as a kid you dream about, something I've done in my backyard a hundred times," said Brosius.

"We're ecstatic to be up 3-0," added Yankee starting pitcher David Cone, who had a no-hitter through five innings.

The Yankees, after an American League record 114 wins in the regular season, could also lay claim to the greatest season in major league history with a World Series title. The only team with a better regular-season record - the 1906 Chicago Cubs - did not win the Series.

The game was tense all the way, in doubt until the last swing of the match. What started as a pitching duel turned into an offensive battle in which both teams' closers showed chinks in their armour.

But San Diego's nearly perfect closer Trevor Hoffman, brought on to get six outs, was the loser, yielding Brosius's game-winner that put New York up 5-3.

"My job is to close and hold the lead," said Hoffman, who had 56 saves in 57 opportunities this year. "I didn't do it. It's magnified because it's in the World Series. It's like blood compared to water. He did a good job with that pitch. It was up and out a little bit too far, but he had to hit it."

Brosius drove in four of the five Yankee runs. The third baseman, who hit .300 and had 98 RBIs in the regular season, now has four post-season homers and 14 RBIs this year - twice as many as his nearest team-mate, Bernie Williams.

Brosius posted these heroic numbers after batting .203 for Oakland last season and then spending most of this season batting ninth. He has now inched up to sixth in the order.

"It's the best team in baseball," said Cone, whose no-hitter was broken up by, of all people, San Diego starter Sterling Hitchcock, who led off the sixth with a single.

Hitchcock, who had a no-hitter until Derek Jeter's single with one out in the fourth, had yielded a single to Cone to lead off his half of the sixth.

Panamanian Ramiro Mendoza got the win for one inning of two-hit, one-run relief.

Yankee closer Mariano Rivera got the last five outs, even though he threw the pitch Greg Vaughn used to drive in the Padres' fourth run, and even though he had to put out a fire of his own making in the ninth, stranding men on first and third.

He never felt safe until Andy Sheets struck out swinging to end the game.

"I did not feel good at any time out there," said Rivera. "They got men on base and I knew a hit could tie it up. I just wasn't comfortable. My stuff wasn't moving. I'm glad we got through it."

New York now must win just once in three possible contests, the last two at home, to collect their second World Series title in three years and 24th in 35 appearance. The Padres made one other appearance 14 years ago, losing to the Detroit Tigers.

Hitchcock escaped a sixth inning in which he gave up three hits. Cone singled to left, making him 3-for-8 (.375) in World Series. Chuck Knoblauch bunted safely.

Hitchcock then struck out Jeter on a 3-2 fastball. But Paul O'Neill grounded up the middle safely, loading the bases for Williams, the American League batting champion.

Hitchcock struck him out on three pitches.

Then up came Tino Martinez with a chance to become the first man ever to hit two World Series grand slams. But he popped out to the second baseman.