Game #132: Mets 3, Marlins 0

(NYDailyNews.com)

With Hurricane Issac in the rearview mirror, Miami had to deal with a brand new threat: Hurricane Robert (Allen).

R.A. Dickey tossed a complete game shutout and Ike Davis supplied all the offense as the Mets closed out August with a 3-0 win over the Marlins.

The Good Stuff:

• With the roof closed and the climate controlled in Marlins Park, R.A. Dickey's knuckleball thrived like no other. Dickey tossed his 5th complete game and 3rd shutout of 2012, allowing just 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7, including Donovan Solano to end the game. Throw in picking off Jose Reyes in the 6th inning and you've got one of his best starts in his best season.
• With the win, Dickey improves his 2012 record to 17-4 with a 2.63 ERA. R.A. is now tied for the league lead in wins, but unfortunately for him, tonight's Cy Young-worthy performance was followed up by another man who earned his 17th win in just as dominating fashion. Other guys pitching for contenders and knuckleball discrimination may cost R.A. Dickey the Cy Young, but he certainly did his job tonight.
• On New York's side of the plate, Ike Davis gave the team all the offense it needed, hitting a sac fly to score the go-ahead run in the 4th. In the 7th, Davis provided an insurance plan, absolutely crushing a 2-run home run to the upper deck of the right field stands. It was Ike's 25th of the season and his 3 RBIs gave him 74 on the year, just 4 behind David Wright's team-leading total.

The Bad Stuff:

• The rest of the Mets' bats failed to get anything going, only collecting 4 hits in the entire game, hitting once with runners in scoring position, and leaving just 2 men on base.

Final Analysis:
Why do the best games always last shorter than the rest? It only took 2 hours and 7 minutes for R.A. Dickey to sit down the entire Miami Marlins ballclub. Ike Davis continued shaking off the few ashes remaining from his rebirth in June and stepped it up when the rest of New York was unable. All in all, a great win and a great way to finish out a lousy month. The Mets won 5 of their last 6 games in August to end the month with a much-less-awful-than-it-sounds 12-16 record. The ship has been righted and the New York Mets have 30 games remaining to give their fans something to look forward to in 2013.

MM