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Mets hand ball to Dickey against Pirates

Jun 11, 2011 - 3:01 PM (Sports Network) - Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey can pitch the New York Mets back to .500 tonight when they meet the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of a four-game series at PNC Park.

The Mets, who've won six of their last eight to climb to 31-32 overall, opened the series with an 8-1 rout Friday night behind eight strong innings from unbeaten starter Dillon Gee (7-0), who allowed a run on eight hits while recording five strikeouts.

Pittsburgh's Charlie Morton (6-3) allowed seven runs -- six earned -- on nine hits and a walk in just four-plus innings.

Andrew McCutchen knocked in the lone run for the Pirates, who lost for the third time in five contests.

The Mets are fourth in the National League East Division and trail the front- running Philadelphia Phillies by 6 1/2 games.

Pittsburgh is fourth in the Central Division, 6 1/2 games behind St. Louis.

Dickey, a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers 15 years ago, was a 6-4 winner over Atlanta in his most recent start on June 5, when he allowed four hits and run across eight innings.

One start earlier, he lasted 7 2/3 innings and gave up five hits and three runs in a 5-1 loss to the Pirates in New York.

He's faced Pittsburgh four times in his career, including three starts, and is 1-1 with a 3.33 earned run average in 24 1/3 innings.

The Nashville native and University of Tennessee product broke in with the Rangers in 2001 and stayed with them through 2006, making 77 appearances before pitching for Seattle and Minnesota and appearing in a combined 67 games in 2008-09.

He arrived in New York last season and won 11 times in 27 appearances.

The Pirates counter with righty James McDonald, who pitched six innings and allowed a run on six hits in the May 31 matchup with Dickey and the Mets.

The 26-year-old got a no-decision in that start and hasn't recorded a win since defeating Cincinnati, 5-3, on May 19.

He is 0-1 with a 3.63 ERA in seven career games against New York and is 1-1 in five road starts for the Pirates this season.

A winner of five games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009, McDonald won four times while splitting 15 appearances between the Dodgers and Pirates in 2010.

The Mets and Pirates split a four-game set in Flushing, N.Y. from May 30-June 2, but New York is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings overall.