Schwei: Some Ups In An Otherwise Down Mets Season

By John Schweibacher
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R.A. Dickey became the sixth pitcher in Mets history to win 20 games in a season, defeating the Marlins 6-5 at Citi Field last Thursday.

Like all but one of his predecessors, Dickey got win number 20 in his first attempt. Only Frank Viola, who got his 20th win on his fourth try in 1990, failed to reach the milestone immediately after his 19th victory.

Here are the pitching lines for Dickey and the six Mets pitchers in their 20th wins -- a feat done nine times:

· R.A. Dickey 9/27/12 6-5 vs. Pit (defeated Kevin Correia)

· Frank Viola 10/3/90 6-3 at Pit (defeated Mike York)

· David Cone 9/30/88 4-2 vs. Stl (defeated Scott Terry)

· Dwight Gooden 8/25/85 9-3 vs. SD (defeated Eric Show)

· Jerry Koosman 9/16/76 4-1 vs. Stl (defeated Pete Falcone)

· Tom Seaver 9/1/75 3-0 vs. Pit (defeated John Candelaria)

· Tom Seaver 9/29/72 1-0 at Pit (defeated Nelson Briles)

· Tom Seaver 9/30/71 6-1 vs. Stl (defeated Daryl Patterson)

· Tom Seaver 9/5/69 5-1 vs. Phi (defeated Grant Jackson)

Dickey won his 20th game despite giving up a homer to ex-Met Rod Barajas. Jerry Koosman allowed a home run to a future Met in his 20th victory in 1976; an 8th inning homer by Keith Hernandez.

On October 2, 1990, Dwight Gooden lost to the Pirates, 9-4, failing to win his 20th game of the season. Gooden and Frank Viola, who won his 20th game in Pittsburgh the next day on his fourth crack at the 20-win milestone, are the only Mets pitchers who missed chances to record a 20th victory.

Jeremy Hefner bounced back from his disastrous start against the Phillies in which he didn't record an out, by throwing seven shutout innings in a 3-0 win vs. the Pirates in his next outing.

Hefner was the 19th Mets starting pitcher to fail to record an out, joining this list of Mets hurlers, including a future Hall of Famer making his final start for the Mets and a former Cy Young winner who was knocked out in the first inning without retiring a batter twice in a four-start span:

· 9/20/12 Jeremy Hefner vs. Phi L16-1 loss
· 5/20/10 John Maine at Was ND 10-7 win
· 4/16/00 Bobby Jones at Pit ND 12-9 win
· 9/17/99 Bobby Jones at Atl L 10-2 loss
· 8/29/87 Sid Fernandez at SF L 9-1 loss
· 7/31/83 Walt Terrell vs. Pit ND 7-6 win
· 6/22/82 Randy Jones vs. Mtl L 4-3 loss
· 6/1/82 Randy Jones vs. Atl L 7-3 loss
· 4/26/81 Craig Swan at Mtl L 7-6 loss
· 9/4/77 Bob Myrick vs. Atl ND 7-5 loss
· 9/18/75 Hank Webb vs. Chi ND 7-5 win
· 9/28/71 Nolan Ryan vs. Stl L 5-2 loss
· 6/27/71 Charlie Williams at Mtl L 12-4 loss
· 9/23/66 Dennis Ribant vs. Cin L 7-0 loss
· 6/5/66 Gary Kroll at Pit L 9-0 loss
· 7/14/63 Galen Cisco vs. Hou L 8-3 loss
· 9/9/62 Craig Anderson at Hou ND 7-7 tie
· 6/14/62 Jay Hook vs. Hou L 10-2 loss
· 5/4/62 Roger Craig at Phi ND 6-5 loss

Last week, Ike Davis became the first Mets hitter since 2008 to reach the 30-home run mark, extending his new career-high total. On the down side, Davis has also set a career-high in strikeouts, beginning the final series of 2012 with 140.

Here is the Mets single-season list of most strikeouts by hitters:

•2010 David Wright 161
•1982 Dave Kingman 156
•1970 Tommie Agee 156
•1975 Dave Kingman 153
•1996 Todd Hundley 146
•2002 Mo Vaughn 145
•2004 Mike Cameron 143
•1986 Darryl Strawberry 141
•2009 David Wright 140
•2012 Ike Davis 140

The Mets complete their 2012 schedule with a three-game series against the Marlins in Miami. The Mets have gone 11-4 vs. Miami so far this season, including a 4-2 record at Marlins Park.

This is the first time since 2006 that the Mets are ending the regular season on the road. If you take into account that in 2006 the Mets ended the postseason at Shea Stadium, this will be first time since 2003 that the last Mets' game of any kind will not be in Flushing. The Mets also ended the 2003 season in Miami.

Schwei's Runs, Hits and Errors:

Runs: Better Late Than Never. Mets pitchers allowed just one hit to Chipper Jones in the Braves third baseman's final 23 at bats against New York.

Hits: Daniel Murphy. Mets second baseman hit .337 (30-for-89) in September and reached a career-best 40 doubles in 2012.

Errors: Three Up, Three Down. Mets went 11-16 in September, giving them losing months in July (7-18), August (12-16) and September after having winning months in April (13-10), May (15-13) and June (15-13).

Think the Mets will end 2012 with a sweep against Reyes and the Marlins? Be heard in the comments below...

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