MIAMI — R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball was obscene enough to warrant a “NC-17” rating last night.
That designation was shorthand for saying the Marlins had “no chance” as Dickey was rolling to victory No. 17, with a complete-game shutout for the Mets.
National League Cy Young Award, anybody?
“Sure, I hope for it,” Dickey said after a 3-0 victory at Marlins Park that gave the Mets their fifth victory in six games. “What pitcher doesn’t? What little kid doesn’t, when he grows up, want to be a Cy Young Award winner? Obviously the hope is inside me, but at the same time I’ve got to be able to hold that hope and hold the job at hand.
“And the job at hand is the St. Louis Cardinals in five days, so that’s where I’ll be. Everybody’s different, but I’ve found when I don’t live in the moment it doesn’t work out well for R.A.”
Dickey (17-4) became the first Mets pitcher to win at least 17 games in a season since Al Leiter in 1998. The last 20-game winner for the Mets was Frank Viola in 1990.
Ike Davis’ two-run homer in the seventh — a towering blast into the second deck in right field against Nathan Eovaldi — was the Mets’ big jolt on a night they survived with only four hits. The homer was Davis’ 25th this season and 18th on the road, which leads the NL.
After Dickey escaped trouble in the eighth, retiring potential tying run Carlos Lee to end the inning, the only question was whether he would get to finish the job.
Manager Terry Collins told Dickey he could start the ninth, but the bullpen would be ready if he encountered trouble. Dickey then retired the side in order for his fifth complete game of the season and third shutout.
“I’m running out of things to say about him,” Collins said. “He threw some knuckleballs tonight that nobody is going to hit them.”
Dickey continues to downplay the possibility of getting to 20 wins for the first time in his career.
“I don’t really give it much thought,” he said. “I feel good about competing for 18 right now. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
“That’s how it’s been for me and I don’t want to get out of that place, regardless of how many times people ask me.”
Davis’ sacrifice fly in the fourth gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy singled in succession to start the inning before Davis pushed the run across. The Mets (62-70) moved three games ahead of the Marlins for fourth place in the NL East.
Dickey surrendered consecutive singles in the fourth before Donovan Solano hit a shot to third base that David Wright turned into an inning- ending double play.
Dickey also put two runners on base in the third inning before striking out Jose Reyes to end the threat. In the sixth, Reyes walked leading off the inning and was picked off by Dickey for the third out.
Collins said there is no question Dickey deserves the Cy Young Award.
“I know we’ve had a collapse in the second half, but when you look what he’s done the entire year, he had a lot to do in the first half with how we did,” Collins said. “He’s racked up numbers [against]with every team in baseball, the good ones and no matter who he’s faced. He’s pitched great.”