R.A. Dickey Does it Again!

For most of his career he has been just another one of the guys. He only played sparingly with the Texas Rangers for the first five years of his career, and his ERA was never very good (lowest was 5.09 in 38 games including 13 starts in 2003). In Seattle he wasn't that hot either; ditto a one year stint in Minnesota.

There must be something in the water at Citi Field in New York because now R.A. Dickey is one of the best in the game, something he proved by doing something that has not been done in over 100 years Monday night.

For the second game in a row, and for the first time at home, Dickey pitched his second consecutive complete game, one-hit shut out Monday night to beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-0. It's just the third time since 1945 that a pitcher has thrown two consecutive, one-hit shutouts.

It wasn't just any complete game/one hit/shut out. It was his second with 10 or more strikeouts (he had 12 against Tampa Bay and 13 last night against Baltimore). No pitcher has done that since 1900.

It is actually his third complete game shutout in the month of June. Dickey and the Mets blanked the St. Louis Cardinals back on June 2; Dickey allowed seven hits and struck out nine. The slacker only lasted 7 1/3 against the Washington Nationals on June 7; he gave up four hits and two walks while strikig out eight.

So be prepared for an endless parade of catchy yet inappropriate headlines today (Tricky Dickey At it Again; Dickey Too Hard for Orioles to Hit; Nothing Soft About Dickey; Dickey No One Night Stand...I could go on and on...).

Dickey is now tied with Atlanta's Brandon Beachy for the lowest ERA in the league (2.00), and is tied with Detroit's Justin Verlander for the most strikeouts (103).