JUNE 5, 1999 Yankees 6 Mets 3

WHILE the action on the field was hot and included Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez throwing his mitt with the ball stuck in the webbing to first for an out, it got real sticky for the Mets when the brass held a post-game meeting at Shea following the club’s eighth straight loss.

When the contentious meeting ended, Mets GM Steve Phillips canned three of Bobby Valentine’s coaches but the beleaguered manager survived. Axed were pitching coach Bob Apodaca, hitting coach Tom Robson and bullpen coach Randy Niemann. Phillips and Valentine engaged in sharp disagreements during the hour-long meeting but Valentine wasn’t asked for his resignation nor did he offer it.

As for the game, El Duque went six innings, allowed three runs and eight hits. His most impressive accomplishment was throwing his glove with the ball in it to retire Rey Ordonez at first while freezing Robin Ventura at third.

Three Yankee runs in the third wiped out a 2-0 Mets lead and Tino Martinez’ leadoff homer in the fourth erased a 3-3 tie.