On a night when he had everything working, Pedro Martinez threw one hanging curveball that cost him a chance at the first no-hitter in Mets history.

Martinez took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning last against the Houston Astros before Chris Burke hit his first major league home run. The speed bump hardly disturbed Martinez, who allowed only one other hit and struck out 12 in a 3-1 victory over one of the worst-hitting teams in baseball.

“It was a curveball that backed up,” catcher Mike Piazza said. “It was the only curve that backed up. It stayed in the hitting zone and he banged it out.”

Martinez said he didn’t realize he had a no-hitter going until the crowd of 39,953 responded following the homer, which came on his 69th pitch.

“I didn’t really realize it until I heard the fans clapping,” he said. “I never look at the scoreboard. It’s not the first time that’s happened to me.”

The two-hitter was his second this season and the fifth of his career.

Behind the plate, Piazza felt he was along for the ride.

“We started hard early and threw some off-speed stuff in the middle innings,” he said. “It was in and out. It’s what he’s feeling.”

Burke, in his first full major league season, had never homered before.

“It’s kind of a culmination of thoughts,” he said of his homer. “First, it’s just the gratification of knowing you hit the ball well. Then, you realize that you broke up a no-hitter and it’s your first homer and it’s off Pedro Martinez. When I got into the dugout, I really kind of had to sit down for a second.”

For Martinez, it was his 44th career complete game and second this season. He capped his stellar performance in style, fanning his final four batters and saluting the crowd with arms raised high as he walked off the mound.

“It’s a great feeling to be embraced by the fans so quickly. I could feel it from the very first time I stepped between the white lines in New York,” Martinez said

He outpitched Roy Oswalt, who hit Cliff Floyd with a pitch in the seventh. An angry Floyd pointed at Oswalt and started toward him, but was held off before he could get close. Both benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown.

Martinez (7-1) pushed his NL-leading total to 104 strikeouts. He retired his first nine batters before walking Orlando Palmeiro on four pitches leading off the fourth inning. The runner was erased when Burke hit into a double play.

Constantly getting ahead of the Houston hitters, Martinez mixed speeds and pitches brilliantly. Typical were back-to-back strikeouts of Lance Berkman and Morgan Ensberg to open the fifth inning.

After Burke’s homer, Martinez responded by striking out Craig Biggio.After Berkman singled, Martinez fanned Ensberg to end the inning.

The Mets jumped in front in the first inning against Oswalt (6-7). Mike Cameron doubled with one out and scored on a two-out double by Floyd.

Despite working with the slim lead, Martinez pitched effortlessly, never coming close to allowing a hit after second baseman Kaz Matsui made a sharp stop behind the bag and threw out Palmeiro leading off the first inning.

Burke’s home run broke that string and kept intact the Mets’ 44-season history of never pitching a no-hitter.

In the fifth, Martinez, who ended an 0-for-29 stretch with his first hit of the season in his last start, singled to center leading off. With the crowd chanting his name, he moved to second on an infield out and third on a single by Cameron.

When Carlos Beltran singled to center, Martinez trotted home with the Mets’ second run, greeted with high-fives from his teammates, who have teased him about his hitting this season.

Marlon Anderson added an RBI single in the seventh.