Dickey Dazzles, Looks Like Old Self In Mets' Win Over Marlins
MIAMI (AP) -- R.A. Dickey flummoxed the Florida Marlins once again.
Dickey made an early run stand up, blanking Florida for seven innings and pitching the New York Mets to a 1-0 victory Wednesday.
Dickey is 3-0 against the Marlins this season. The knuckleballer allowed only one run -- it was unearned -- in 20 innings over that span.
"I think it's coincidence," Dickey said. "Sometimes you match up better against certain type of hitters and maybe this team has those kinds of hitters for me."
Jose Reyes led off the game with a single and scored on a one-out double down the left-field line by Lucas Duda for the only run of the game.
"You don't see that very often," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "Fortunately, Jose got on, Lucas put one where nobody was standing and we got a chance to score. Otherwise, we'd still be playing."
Dickey (8-11) and relievers Josh Stinson and Manny Acosta combined on a five-hitter. The Mets also managed just five hits.
The Mets played their final game at the Marlins' stadium before Florida moves into a new home next season. The Mets finished 75-74 at the park the Marlins had shared with the Miami Dolphins since 1993.
Dickey gave up four hits and three walks. He struck out three.
"I started off very mediocre," Dickey said. "The second and third innings I really had to fight out of some jams and was fortunate enough to make some good pitches."
Brad Hand (1-6) allowed one run, three hits and four walks in six innings.
"I minimized the damage," Hand said. "When they did get runners on, I got out of it. Just trying to keep the team in the game and not give up any more runs after that first."
Florida had a runner in scoring position in each of the first four innings and stranded eight in the game.
"He wasn't nearly as sharp as he's been against us in the past," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. "I thought for sure we were going to get him. He gave us an opportunity but we couldn't cash in and put the ball in play."
The Mets committed errors on back-to-back plays in the third, but the Marlins could not take advantage of the blunders.
In the eighth, the Marlins put Emilio Bonifacio on third base, but Stinson struck out Gaby Sanchez swinging to end the inning.
"(Stinson) looked very much the part that he's a big leaguer, no question," Collins said.
Acosta pitched the ninth and recorded his first save since Aug. 11, 2010, at Houston. He struck out the first two batters he faced before hitting Mike Stanton with a pitch. Greg Dobbs grounded back to Acosta to end the game.
"That was my first opportunity this year, I'm happy, and I'll wait for more," Acosta said.
Jason Bay had two hits for the Mets.
NOTES: LF Logan Morrison kept the Marlins within a run when he threw out David Wright at the plate to end the top of the eighth. ... The shutout was the Mets' second since July 5. Chris Capuano pitched the other one. ... Marlins 3B Matt Dominguez recorded his first major league hit with a single in the second inning. "It was good to get that first one out of the way. So doing it in the first at-bat was good," Dominguez said. "The next couple at-bats I could relax a little bit more." ... The Mets host the Braves in a doubleheader Thursday, sending RHP Chris Schwinden and RHP Dillon Gee to the mound. The 24-year-old Schwinden will be making his big league debut. Gee is 0-1 with a 9.20 ERA in his last three starts. ... Florida is off Thursday and will send RHP Ricky Nolasco to the mound Friday at Pittsburgh. Nolasco has a scoreless-inning streak of 21 innings against the Pirates, which spans his last three starts.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
