LOS ANGELES — R.A. Dickey got a Hollywood beginning, but once again no such luck on the ending.
On a night the veteran knuckleballer dazzled — displaying no-hit-like stuff for the third time this month — but the Dodgers got a few balls to drop.
Dickey’s three-hitter over eight innings and big offensive nights by Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada let the Mets roll to a third straight victory, 9-0, before 49,763 Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
Dickey (12-1) allowed soft singles to Aaron Harang and A.J. Ellis in the third and seventh innings, respectively, before Tony Gwynn Jr. delivered a solid double in the eighth. Dickey finished with 10 strikeouts and one walk for his fifth double-digit strikeout performance of the season.
It ended a month for Dickey that he likely will never forget — one that included consecutive one-hitters before rebounding from a drubbing by the Yankees to pitch last night’s gem.
“I want to consistently give my team a chance to win every time out and be trustworthy,” Dickey said. “I’m glad to say in this last month I’ve been there, and that’s nice.”
Manager Terry Collins said he is expecting a phone call within the next day from Tony La Russa, who will manage the NL All-Star team, to discuss Dickey’s worthiness to start the Midsummer Classic on July 10.
“There’s going to be a lot of choices, but Dickey has certainly got to be in the mix,” Collins said.
The manager also threw out the possibility of starting Dickey twice in the next week — once on short rest before the break — but it likely won’t happen because it would mean skipping Johan Santana, and the lefty is against that idea.
Murphy and Tejada provided all of the offensive support needed. Murphy hit a three-run homer and finished with five RBIs, and Tejada had a 4-for-5 performance as part of the Mets’ 14-hit attack.
Dickey had a controversial one-hitter on June 13 at Tampa Bay. The Mets later appealed the scoring decision that gave B.J. Upton a first-inning single when David Wright missed in his attempt to bare-hand the ball, but the call was ultimately upheld by the commissioner’s office.
Five days later, Dickey pitched a one-hitter against the Orioles, with the lone hit coming on Wilson Betemit’s single in the fifth inning. That performance made Dickey the first pitcher since Toronto’s Dave Stieb in 1988 to pitch consecutive one-hitters.
Collins blamed the “hoopla” of pitching in the Subway Series for Dickey’s dud last Sunday, when he allowed five earned runs over six innings against the Yankees.
“I do believe when we played the Yankees there was too much going on for him,” Collins said, referring to the load of interview requests Dickey received from national media.
“I hope that right now he gets back into the routine he’s accustomed to and that’s getting ready to pitch. We try to keep these guys on track as far as their routines go, so every time you turn around they aren’t dragged away doing an interview somewhere, let them focus on their jobs.”
Murphy’s three-run homer against Blake Hawksworth in the seventh turned the game into a runaway, extending the Mets’ lead to 8-0. The blast — Murphy’s third since Wednesday — gave him five RBIs in the game, tying a career high. Tejada delivered an RBI single later in the inning, giving him four hits to tie a career high.
The Mets had seized control with three runs against Harang in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead. Murphy’s two-run double — the ball was misplayed on a bounce by right fielder Scott Van Slyke — gave the Mets their final runs of the inning.
Lucas Duda had snapped an 0-for-15 with an RBI single moments earlier. Tejada’s third hit of the game, a double with one out, began the rally before Wright was intentionally walked.
Wright’s RBI single in the third gave the Mets their first run before Ike Davis’ sacrifice fly made it 2-0. The RBI for Wright was his eighth in his last three games.
Andres Torres began the inning by reaching on Jerry Hairston Jr.’s fielding error before Tejada singled. Wright then delivered his single before Davis got his 42nd RBI of the season with his fly to left.