ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — R.A. Dickey allowed only an infield single in his second career one-hitter and broke the New York Mets’ record for consecutive scoreless innings in a 9-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
Dickey (10-1) became the first 10-game winner in the major leagues and ran his career-best shutout streak to 32 2-3 innings before allowing an unearned run in the ninth. That topped the previous club mark of 31 2-3 scoreless innings in a row set by Jerry Koosman in 1973.
B.J. Upton’s slow bouncer to third base in the first inning was the lone hit off Dickey, who set a career best with 10 strikeouts and did not walk a batter. The 37-year-old knuckleballer permitted only one other baserunner, on a throwing error by third baseman David Wright in the ninth.
Following the game, Mets manager Terry Collins says the team will ask the commissioner’s office to overturn the official scorer’s decision on Upton’s hit. If the decision is overturned, Dickey will have thrown the Mets’ second no-hitter of the season — after the franchise going half a century without its first no-no.
The speedy Upton hit a high bouncer in the first inning that Wright was unable to field with his bare hand. The play was ruled a hit, but the Mets wonder if it should have been called an error on Wright. Collins conceded the appeal probably won’t change the result.