The New York Yankees defeated the New York Mets 6-5 as knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey struggled with his control and allowed his first earned runs in more than a month.

Dickey, who entered the game with a Major League Baseball- best 11 wins and was coming off consecutive one-hitters, gave up five runs over six innings last night at Citi Field in New York. His streak of 44 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run ended when the Yankees scored four third-inning runs, with three coming on a home run by Nick Swisher.

“I didn’t have a great knuckleball, it was just coming out wobbly a little bit,” Dickey said in the Mets’ clubhouse.

Dickey still hasn’t taken a loss since April 18, as the Mets rallied to tie the game 5-5 against the Yankees’ CC Sabathia before relief pitcher Miguel Batista gave up a solo home run to Robinson Cano in the top of the eighth inning.

The Yankees won the final two games of the interleague series after losing the opener.

“He didn’t have the command he’s had all year long,” Mets manager Terry Collins said of Dickey at his post-game news conference. “Behind in the count, that’s certainly something he hasn’t done in a long time. I’m certainly surprised. But it happens.”

Dickey trailed 5-1 before the Mets scored one run in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth against Sabathia to tie the score. Sabathia allowed nine hits over 5 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.

Dickey, meantime, allowed an earned run for the first time since May 22 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After going 6-0 with a 0.18 earned run average over his previous six starts, Dickey gave up a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to Mark Teixeira in the bottom of the third and Swisher followed by drilling a homer over the right-centerfield wall. It was the first homer allowed in 70 innings by Dickey, who also issued three walks and threw his first wild pitch of the season.

“All good things come to an end or they wouldn’t end, right?” Dickey said. “It’s time to begin another streak.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net