Mariano Rivera struggles but closes out the Mets as the Yankees take a 2-0 series lead. (AP)

Roger Clemens allowed two hits over eight innings. Nelson and Rivera allowed more than twice as many in the ninth.

"We know it's not over by a long shot," Mets starter Mike Hampton said. "We have a lot of fight left in us. We showed that in the ninth inning."

Still, the Yankees held on for their record 14th consecutive Series win.

"A 'W' is a 'W,'" Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said.

Nelson's exit was nearly as quick as last Sunday's in Seattle, when he relieved with a 2-1 lead, allowed a two-run single to Alex Rodriguez, a two-run homer to Edgar Martinez and a solo homer to John Olerud.

This time, he allowed a single to Edgardo Alfonzo on his fourth pitch, a home run to Piazza on his sixth that hit high off the left-field foul pole and a single to Robin Ventura on his eighth.

Joe Torre quickly went to Rivera, who gave up a drive to Todd Zeile that Clay Bellinger caught with a jump, grabbing the ball at the top of the wall.

"Hey, nice catch!" Steinbrenner yelled at Bellinger in the clubhouse.

In the Mets' dugout, the attempt to come back lost a little steam with the inning's first out. Zeile's ball had nearly cleared the wall, about 7 feet, 3 inches high.

"Todd's ball, that's the one that hurt," said Ventura, who tagged up and went to third. "He got it really good. It just happened to be against the wall in the deep part of the park."

Rivera had thrown 34 pitches in Game 1, pitching the ninth and 10th innings. He said he didn't feel tired. Yankees catcher Jorge Posada thought he didn't have enough time to warm up.

Rivera said it was just one of those things, that most of 18 pitches Sunday weren't very good.

"I wasn't that sharp," he said. "It happens."

Like Zeile, Benny Agbayani fell behind 1-2 in the count, and then he singled. After a passed ball moved up the runners, Lenny Harris hit a comebacker and instead of throwing to first, Rivera got Agbayani in a rundown between second and third. Shortstop Derek Jeter then threw home, and Posada tagged out a sliding Ventura for the second out.

Payton then sent an outside pitch straight down the right-field line, hitting an opposite-field homer than pulled the Mets within a run.

"It was nice we got back in the ballgame," Payton said. "But we were still down a run."

Rivera never doubted himself.

"I never lost my concentration, never lost -- how do you say? -- my focus," Rivera said.

Kurt Abbott then came up and he didn't last long, striking out on three pitches, watching a called third strike whiz by,

"2-0 wasn't as comfortable as it was an hour ago," Torre said of his team's lead in the best-of-7 series. "They just won't roll over and die. They're tough."