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Mets down Cardinals, Dickey wins 18th

Sep 6, 2012 - 3:47 AM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Ike Davis clubbed a three-run home run and R.A. Dickey pitched effectively into the seventh inning, as the New York Mets downed the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2, in the finale of a three-game series Wednesday at Busch Stadium.

Dickey (18-4) allowed two runs on eight hits and a walk with five strikeouts over 6 2/3 frames to earn his major league-leading 18th victory of the season. He became the first Mets pitcher to reach 18 wins since Frank Viola and Dwight Gooden both accomplished the feat in 1990.

"He battled very, very hard today," Mets manager Terry Collins said of Dickey. "He didn't have his best stuff tonight but he continued to work."

Justin Turner and Mike Baxter each scored twice, while Daniel Murphy finished 3-for-5 with a run scored for the Mets, who wrapped up a nine-game road trip at 6-3.

Adam Wainwright (13-12) was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs on eight hits and two walks over five frames. He also smacked his first home run of the season in the setback, the Cardinals' sixth in their last nine games.

"Two games in a row I couldn't put guys away," said Wainwright.

The Mets plated a two-out run in the second, as Turner doubled to keep the frame alive and quickly scored on Josh Thole's single into center field to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

New York tacked on another two-out run in the third as Baxter ripped a one-out single, Murphy smacked a two-out base hit and Davis drew a walk to load the bases before Lucas Duda walked to score Baxter for a 2-0 edge.

Wainwright quickly got the run back, as he belted an 0-2 knuckleball into the left-field seats to cut the margin in half.

Davis' three-run blast in the fifth pressed the margin to 5-1. Baxter and Murphy smacked singles around a strikeout from Ruben Tejada before Davis deposited a curveball over the wall in right field.

St. Louis trimmed the margin in the seventh, as Daniel Descalso singled and then moved to third when Tony Cruz followed with a base hit.

Pinch-hitter Allen Craig then grounded into a double play to score Descalso before Jon Jay scorched a single to center field, chasing Dickey from the contest. Josh Edgin struck out pinch-hitter David Freese to end the seventh.

In the eighth, Turner doubled to get things started and then moved to third on a single from Thole. Andres Torres then plated Turner with a sharp single deep in the hole at shortstop to press the lead to 6-2.

Jon Rauch recorded a perfect eighth and Frank Francisco worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to secure the victory.

Game Notes

Viola finished 20-12 in 1990, while Gooden wrapped up his season at 19-7 ... Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller made his major league debut, striking out four over two scoreless innings in relief ... St. Louis went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded six ... Wainwright's homer was the sixth of his career.