BOSTON BERN-ED; BAD CALL, WILLIAMS HURT SOX : N.Y. YANKEES 4 BOSTON 3.

Byline: Ken Davidoff The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)

In what is expected to be a show-stopping American League Championship Series, one filled with drama and history and rivalry, it will be hard to top this opener.

Bernie Williams' leadoff homer in the bottom of the 10th inning gave the New York Yankees a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 on Wednesday night, putting a thrilling ending to this first postseason meeting between the two clubs.

On an 0-1 count, Williams drilled a Rod Beck offering over the center-field fence. His teammates burst out of the dugout to swarm him, and the Yankee Stadium crowd of 57,181 - or at least those who stuck through the intermittent rain - exploded with excitement. Mariano Rivera picked up the victory with two shutout innings.

Williams' homer had to give Yankees fans a sense of deja vu. They won Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS against Baltimore when Williams led off the bottom of the 11th with a homer against Randy Myers.

``That was all I was thinking about the inning before,'' Williams said. ``When Paul O'Neill grounded out, it was kind of like a setup for the same situation. . . . But I thought, `What are the chances for that happening twice?' ''

``Bernie, he is very unpredictable,'' manager Joe Torre said. ``He comes up so large sometimes. I don't think this game is anything different.''

The Yankees have won 11 straight postseason games. The Red Sox have dropped nine straight ALCS contests.

Williams' homer capped a comeback from a 3-0 deficit, as the Yankees played sloppy ball early but rebounded to take a 1-0 lead in games. Tonight, David Cone will try to put the Bombers up by a two-game margin.

The Yankees knew that their three days off from their AL Division Series sweep over Texas might prove to be a disadvantage, and that their opponent's nothing-to-lose mentality could be dangerous. And yet, at night's beginning, they seemed helpless to prevent such a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Red Sox capitalized on misplays in the first and second innings to build a 3-0 lead.

Thanks in large part to Scott Brosius, the Yankees eventually wiped out that lead. The reigning World Series MVP homered, tripled, and singled, missing only a double to complete the cycle.

Yankees starter Orlando Hernandez continued his superb October pitching, going eight strong innings, giving up three runs (two earned) and seven hits while walking two and striking out four. In four postseason starts, he has allowed a total of three earned runs in 30 innings, making for a 0.90 ERA.

But he was matched by the Boston fleet of pitchers. Kent Mercker, who started Game 4 of Boston's AL Division Series on Sunday night and lasted just 1-2/3 innings, threw four innings; the only runs he allowed came on Brosius' two-run homer. Beefy right-hander Rich Garces tossed two hitless innings. Derek Lowe allowed the tying run in his 2-2/3 innings, and Rheal Cormier tallied a key out before Beck came in and threw just two pitches.

The star shortstops, the Yanks' Derek Jeter and the Sox' Nomar Garciaparra, experienced mixed nights. Jeter made a critical error in the first inning that helped the visitors jump out to a 2-0 lead; he countered that with two hits, including the game-tying single. Garciaparra made two outstanding, leaping catches, saving as many as three runs from being scored. Yet he committed two errors and went 0 for 4 at the plate.

The Yankees benefited from a poor umpiring call in the top of the 10th. After Jose Offerman led off with a single, John Valentin knocked a grounder to third. Scott Brosius cradled it and threw to second, where Chuck Knoblauch - apparently looking toward first for the potential double play - dropped the ball. Replays showed he never had possession of it.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) The New York Yankees' Bernie Williams (51) jumps into the arms of his jubilant teammates after his game-winning home run in the bottom of the 10th inning at Yankee Stadium off Rod Beck.

Chris Gardner/Associated Press

(2) Boston's Jimy Williams argues a 10th-inning call by umpire Rick Reed, who admitted he missed the call.

Mark Lennihan/Associated Press

(3) Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra steals a base hit away from New York Yankees Chili Davis to end the first inning.

Ron Frehm/Associated Press