MIAMI — R.A. Dickey endured a quick scare, but has no reason to believe his right wrist will be an issue.
The Mets knuckleballer was in obvious pain after getting drilled near his pitching hand by Ricky Nolasco in the fifth inning yesterday, but remained in the game to pitch two more frames in the Mets’ 9-3 victory over the Marlins.
“I was thankful it hit me on the meatier part of the wrist,” Dickey said. “I got feeling back in my hand pretty quickly.”
Even so, the Mets removed Dickey after the sixth inning for precautionary reasons. His final line included two earned runs allowed on nine hits and one walk.
Dickey said he probably would have remained in the game for at least another inning if not for getting plunked.
“It’s better to be precautionary at that stage, so we’ll see how it feels in the morning,” Dickey said.
The pitcher indicated there were no plans for him to have X-rays.
* Rob Johnson originally was slated to start at catcher, but pitching coach Dan Warthen suggested Mike Nickeas instead because of his familiarity with Dickey’s knuckleball. Johnson instead will start today with Jon Niese on the mound.
* Manager Terry Collins said there was no need for him to speak with Frank Francisco, a day after the veteran right-hander blew the save in the Mets’ 6-5 loss to the Marlins.
“To me you pick and choose your spots,” Collins said. “If you go to him after every game where he has a little rough outing, they get tired of hearing it. He’s a veteran guy — he knows exactly what is going on.”
* Mike Baxter delivered a double off the bench in the ninth and leads the major leagues with seven pinch hits. As a pinch-hitter, he is 7-for-16 (.438) with five RBIs this season.
* Andres Torres finished 1-for-3 with two walks and extended his streak of games reaching base to 12.
* Jose Reyes finished 4-for-5 for the Marlins, but was overshadowed by David Wright’s four hits and the Mets winning.
“He’s a pretty good player,” Wright said. “He can have four hits as a long as we win the game. Those singles up the middle in the ninth, as long as we win the game he can have them.”