MLB

Mets’ Dickey reaches 20 wins with 13-strikeout effort

WE SALUTE YOU: R.A. Dickey acknowledges the love from the fans after he nailed down his 20th win yesterday. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)

R.A. Dickey has been the biggest silver lining in the Mets’ subpar season, arguably the most compelling tale in all of baseball. And yesterday he put an exclamation point on his story, walking off to a Citi Field ovation and into team history, the first Met to reach 20 wins in two decades and first knuckleballer to do it in three.

“I want to get emotional. It’s hard, because of the season we’ve had. … But this moment transcends that in a way, as far as connection with the fans. … It’s been a grind, a real exhale,’’ said Dickey, whose 6-5 win over Pittsburgh was just that.

He shook off an early deficit and an unbelievable home-run robbing catch by Travis Snider, a shaky start and shoddy relief by Jon Rauch. And when it was over, a drained Dickey had become only the sixth Met to win 20 games and surely added to what will already be life-changing money. It was the Amazin’s last home game this season, but will it be Dickey’s final Citi Field start as a Met?

Dickey (20-6) signed a two-year extension before last season with a $5 million option for next year the Mets will likely pick up; but he has said he has “more leverage” going into extension talks, and if he wins the Cy Young — something no Met has done since Doc Gooden in 1985 — he’ll have even more.

BOX SCORE

“Once you have the weaponry to compete, you want to be really good. Once you’re really good, you want to be supernaturally good,’’ said Dickey, who leads the NL in strikeouts (222), innings (229 2/3), complete games (5) and shutouts (3), and is 0.01 off Clayton Kershaw’s ERA lead and a win behind Gio Gonzalez in wins. “For me there’s been this steady metamorphosis from just surviving to being a craftsman to ultimately the hope is to be artist. This year is representative of that for me.

“If I can harness the moment, and really suck the marrow out of every second, then I’ve done what I want to do, and I can be satisfied.”

Dickey, 37, has done more than anybody could have rightfully expected.

He was stuck in self-professed mediocrity when he picked up the knuckleball in 2005, jogging late at night and envisioning success. But now he’s living it, a climb that must have seemed longer than his Kilimanjaro trek last offseason.

He tied a career-high with 13 strikeouts, and got a tie-breaking three-run homer from David Wright to become the first Met to win 20 since Frank Viola in 1990 and first knuckleballer to do so since Joe Niekro a decade earlier.

Dickey fell behind 3-1 after Rod Barajas’ fourth-inning solo shot. But the Mets tied it on RBI singles by Scott Hairston in the fourth and Daniel Murphy in the fifth. Snider had reached over the fence earlier to rob Mike Baxter, but Wright untied it with a three-run blast Snider couldn’t reach.

“There were times he picked us up and carried us on his back,’’ Wright said. “To win 20 games, especially with the way we’ve played offensively the second half, that says a lot.’’

The crowd of 31,506 cheered when he walked off the mound after the seventh inning. But Terry Collins wanted the crowd to honor Dickey, so he let him bat in the seventh — legging out an infield hit — and start the eighth, before Dickey walked Snider with two outs and left to an ovation, doffing his cap.

“To know this guy like I know him … everything it takes to be great, he’s done it. He’s willing to sacrifice everything to be great,’’ Collins said. “He got his 20th win, and if there’s greatness in pitching, it’s winning 20.’’

Rauch made it close, coughing up a two-run homer to Alex Presley in the ninth. But Bobby Parnell got Josh Harrison to ground out and Jose Tabata to fly out to notch his fifth save — and preserve Dickey’s spot as a Cy Young frontrunner.

“Who doesn’t want to win the Cy Young Award? What kid doesn’t grow up wanting to be the best? I’m no different. I want to be the best. I’ve always wanted to be the best,’’ Dickey said.

“Now, I haven’t always had the weaponry to do that. But I feel like now I have something I can offer that might give me a shot at helping a team win.’’

brian.lewis@nypost.com