R.A. Dickey took a no-hitter into the sixth inning today and looked to be in mid-season form as the Mets took care of business with the Astros, 8-2.

Summary

What else can be said about R.A. Dickey that has not already been said in the form of a compliment or a pun?

He pitched into the 7th today, going 6 and a third innings and allowing only a single with three walks. He struck out four, including his last batter in the seventh. I feel confident knowing that if he is not our ace, R.A. Dickey is a solid #2 starter on this staff and could very well be an ace for some teams. Edgin took over after Dickey, who pitched longer than expected and deprived us of a Fernando Cabrera appearance, and finished the 7th while picking up a K. Ramon Ramirez followed with a scoreless eighth, allowing only a hit and picking up a strikeout as well.

Take notice of this, however: Francisco came in to pitch in the ninth and allowed another run off 2 hits, which means he has allowed a run in 5/7 appearances this spring and at least 2 baserunners in each of those 5 appearances. That leads up to a 6.43 Spring E.R.A.

Ruben Tejada led off the bottom of the first with a bang, as he took opposing starter Wandy Rodriguez deep to put the Mets on the board right off the bat. Rodriguez did not have it today, as he walked in a run in the 1st and 4th innings as well. 3 Houston errors today led to 3 unearned runs, and the Mets were 5-14 with RISP – good to see, even in Spring Training.

Omar Quintanilla drilled a 3 RBI 2B in the 7th to do some damage to Escalona, who was not on his game today. Jason Bay singled, scored, and stole a base again – but he also struck out on a pitch outside. 11 hits overall for the Metsies today, but only Vinny Rottino and Rob Johnson banged out multiple ones. Rough day for Lucas May, who took in some time at 3B and left 7 men on base today.

Defense went by well today – if there’s nothing bad to say about it, I assume it would be a good thing. Another DP turned from the Murph/Tejada duo, so they are getting some practice in.

Hero Of The Game

R.A. Dickey for teasing us by flirting with a no-hitter and pitching excellent, as always.

Notes

Adam Loewen came in today and struck out…again. That gives him 15 in 31 ABs, 10 in his last 10 games where he’s batting .118. I do not have a persona agenda against him – I am just keeping tabs on him because he is basically guaranteed a bench spot and I am going to be worried if our of our main pinch-hitting or bench options is a K machine.

I think Josh Satin is going to develop into an excellent hitter. His mechanics are pretty good. On the same topic of young players impressing me, Josh Edgin continues to rock, Ike Davis looks great, and it was good to see Tejada take one deep today. For the record, I do want Olson over Edgin as Byrdak’s temporary replacement, but I love what I am seeing from Edgin so far.

Valdespin saw some time in CF today.

Dickey had a 10-3 GO/FO ratio today – even when he walks a few guys, as a knuckleballer, he still manages to keep the ball down for a high groundball ratio.

On Deck

Mets take on the Braves tomorrow with Jon Niese toeing the rubber for the Amazins. Miguel Batista, Daniel Herrera, and Josh Edgin are all expected to pitch, so keep your eye on those potential bullpen candidates. 1:05 start.