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Dickey earns 14th win as Mets down D-backs

Jul 30, 2012 - 1:21 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Stuck in a quagmire for the last month, R.A. Dickey recaptured his pre-All-Star break form and won his National League- leading 14th game.

The knuckleballer tossed seven innings of one-run ball and the New York Mets downed the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-1, in the finale of a four-game set.

Dickey (14-2) fanned eight, scattered four hits, walked three and surrendered an unearned run. He was 1-1 with a 6.49 earned run average in July coming into the contest and had allowed eight-or-more hits in each of his last four starts.

"I just kept telling myself to stay with it. It (knuckleball) was pretty good," said Dickey, who experienced bouts of nausea during the game. "I felt like I had a pretty good knuckleball the whole nine (innings)."

Scott Hairston knocked in a pair of runs for New York, which won for only the third time in its last 17 games.

Joe Saunders (5-7) was charged with four runs on eight hits and three walks in seven innings for Arizona, which has dropped three of its last five on the heels of a five-game winning streak.

"You tip your hat to Dickey, he pretty much baffled us all day," Saunders said.

The Mets jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the opening frame as David Wright ripped an RBI double off the base of the wall in right-center and Hairston blooped a run-scoring double down the right field line.

New York doubled its advantage after plating a run in the fifth and another in the sixth.

Wright led off the fifth with a walk, stole second and came home on Hairston's single to left, while David Murphy's two-out RBI double to left in the sixth made it 4-0.

Dickey, who gave up just a hit through the first five frames, ran into a bit of trouble in the home sixth.

Aaron Hill reached on an infield single with one out and advanced to second on Ruben Tejada's throwing error at shortstop. He scampered to third on a passed ball during Jason Kubel's at-bat, who struck out, and scored on Paul Goldschmidt's liner into center.

Miguel Montero then walked, which brought the tying run to the plate in Chris Young, but Dickey fanned him for the third time to keep it a 4-1 game.

The Mets got the run back in the seventh on Josh Thole's RBI double to left, increasing the margin to 5-1.

Game Notes

Wright's double was his 31st of the season...The Mets were 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base, while the D-backs finished 1-for-6 and stranded seven...Time of Game: 2:39.