Dickey pitches well but takes tough loss
Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey. (Sept. 12, 2011) Credit: David Pokress
R.A. Dickey allowed three runs in seven innings, but was the hard-luck loser as the Nationals beat the Mets at Citi Field Monday night, 3-2.
Nationals rookie Stephen Lombardozzi singled through the left side of the infield to drive in the go-ahead run with two outs in the seventh. It was the first major-league hit for Lombardozzi, whose father, also named Steve, was a second baseman on the 1987 World Series champion Minnesota Twins.
Dickey (8-12) had won his previous three starts. His ERA, which was 5.08 on May 14, has fallen all the way to 3.43. One of the runs he gave up Monday night was unearned thanks to a David Wright error in the fifth inning.
"He pitched a great game," Terry Collins said. "As has happened in so many of his starts, we just didn't give him any runs to work with."
The Mets have lost five of six. Collins said he thought his team lacked focus Monday night because of the attention given to the cap controversy after Sunday's 9/11 game. But it seemed more likely he was chiding the media for asking questions about what became a sore subject around Citi Field Monday.
"The attention is away from the game right now," he said. "And that's an issue with me because you've got to focus on the game. What was the attention on today? . . . We all want to know which kind of hat we're going to wear tonight."
Dickey, though, said: "I certainly didn't feel a distraction. I think I can speak for the rest of the team."
Notes & quotes: Jason Bay was named NL player of the week. He hit .481 with two homers and 10 RBIs. Wright won it the week before.
