R.A. Dickey has done quite a bit this offseason with not only writing a book about his life but also climbing a Mountain!
But he also has a job which not only pays him quite well, but is also pretty awesome, starting pitcher for the Mets.
Dickey went six solid innings and Lucas Duda hit two home runs, including one over one of the new fences, to lead the Mets to a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Dickey got off to a rough start with a leadoff double by Michael Bourn, but going into the bottom of the 3rd, it was still 0-0.
David Wright got the scoring started in the 3rd inning with an opposite field solo home run off of Jair Jurrjens that would have been out of Citi Field last year.
In the 4th inning, Lucas Duda got in on the party with a home run that last year would have hit the track and bounced of the wall 415 feet away. But, thanks to the new fence that is 390 feet away, it was a solo homer and a 2-0 lead.
Dickey was cruising with 2 outs in the 5th until Bourn reached base again and Martin Prado tied the game with a two run shot that also would have been out of Citi Field in years past.
In the bottom of the 5th, Livan Hernandez was one out away from getting Jurrjens and Braves out of a mess but Josh Thole singled in front of Jason Heyward to drive in Ike Davis to give the Mets the lead.
Lucas Duda went deep again in the bottom of the 7th in the seats to the right of the Mo’s Zone to extend the lead to 4-2.
Frank Francisco was able to close out the game in the 9th, although with a little bit of drama, and the Mets were 2-0 for the first time since 2009.
Take the jump for the Turning Point, Game Ball, Random Moment and whats next for the 1st place Mets.
Turning Point: With two outs in 5th inning, the light hitting Thole was able to get the Mets back on top with a 2 out RBI single that Heyward couldn’t come up with. The Mets of course never gave the lead back.
Random Stache Moment: My excitement at seeing Duda hit that homer over the moved in fences after years of screaming about them being to far away was awesome. Matthew 1, Taryn “Coop” Cooper: ZERO.
Game Ball: I’m going to give the game ball to the Dude, Lucas Duda. After a struggle on opening day, he showed that his strong spring was no fluke with those two home runs that each time gave the Mets a two run lead.
Next Game: Tomorrow at Citi Field the Mets look to sweep the Braves as they send the much richer and smaller noised Jon Niese against fellow young lefty Mike Minor. The game is at 1:10 pm and can be seen on SNY and heard on WFAN 660-AM
