R.A. Dickey has one name in mind, above the rest, when identifying his chief competition for the NL Cy Young Award.
Asked by The Post yesterday whom he would select for the award — provided he couldn’t pick himself — the Mets knuckleballer chose Gio Gonzalez.
The Nationals lefty then rolled to his major-league best 19th win, leading a 5-1 victory over the Mets. Dickey will get a shot at No. 19 tonight, when he opposes Jordan Zimmermann.
Why Gonzalez as Dickey’s top choice?
“I think his hits-to-innings pitched and strikeouts really reflect a consistently dominant year,” Dickey said.
Gonzalez (19-7) allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts and five walks to lower his ERA to 0.90 in three career starts at Citi Field.
Entering last night, Gonzalez had allowed only 133 hits in 175 1/3 innings, making him the toughest pitcher in the NL to hit — opponents were batting only .208 against him. In addition, Gonzalez’s 2.98 ERA ranked sixth and his 185 strikeouts were fourth.
Dickey said he hasn’t been surprised by Gonzalez’s dominance in his first year in the NL, after arriving to the Nationals in a trade with the Athletics last winter.
“I would say switching leagues was an advantage for him, because the National League hasn’t seen him,” Dickey said. “So he’s a surprise to a lot of teams in the National League, because he’s been in the American League. Not that he wouldn’t do this in his second or third year, but it certainly helps to be able to kind of surprise guys at least one time through. I saw him in Oakland and he was great over there, so it’s no surprise to me.”
Dickey’s choice behind Gonzalez was Reds right-hander Johnny Cueto.
“Both these guys are playing for first-place teams, so that helps to be able to get wins, and they both have the wins, too,” Dickey said.
But Dickey, who pitches for a 65-76 Mets team that likely will finish below .500, was quick to mention that a club’s success in the standings should not impact the Cy Young race. If anything, he says it’s more impressive when a pitcher emerges from a struggling team.
“Felix Hernandez with the Mariners, when he did it with that team [in 2010] was impressive,” Dickey said.
Dickey (18-4, 2.64 ERA) bolstered his candidacy on the Mets’ last road trip. It started with a complete-game shutout in Miami before he held the Cardinals to two runs over 6 2/3 innings for the victory on a day he struggled with his knuckleball.
Dickey entered yesterday first in the NL in earned run average and his 195 strikeouts ranked third. He was second in innings pitched with 198.
Though his teammates say they are pulling for Dickey to win the Cy Young, they say the adrenaline is no higher for one of his starts.
“I like winning,” Ike Davis said. “We’ve been winning a lot when he pitches.”
Dickey said he’s unsure of the effect his Cy Young candidacy has on the team, but he is certain it has meant plenty to the fans. He only needed a visit to the U.S. Open after Sunday’s game to recognize the fans’ zeal.
The name “Cy Young” was uttered by many Mets fans at the U.S. Open, according to Dickey.
“It’s a neat thing to kind of celebrate with them as we go forward, because we haven’t given them, from a team perspective, much to be excited about,” Dickey said. “But there are some things going on, whether it’s a no-hitter or Cy Young, that you can give to them as a gift.”