Knuckleball doesn’t baffle Harper again
NEW YORK - Bryce Harper had looked so bad all season against R.A. Dickey's dancing knuckleball that he didn't even expect to play Tuesday night.
Nationals manager Davey Johnson had a different idea.
Harper had his first four-hit game, and pinch hitter Tyler Moore launched a go-ahead homer off Dickey in the seventh inning to send Washington past the New York Mets, 5-3.
After entering 0-for-10 with six strikeouts against Dickey, Harper doubled and singled twice off the All-Star pitcher. The talented rookie added an RBI single in the ninth off Josh Edgin to become the first teenager with four hits in a major league game since Andruw Jones did it for Atlanta on Sept. 22, 1996.
"Now he realizes he can hit a knuckleball," Johnson said.
Leadoff batter Jayson Werth reached base all five times for the National League East leaders, who have won seven straight and 11 of 12 at Citi Field.
Harper credited Werth's fine at-bats in front of him for helping him solve Dickey. Werth is 13-for-27 (.481) with two homers, three doubles and five walks against Dickey - attributing his success to all the Wiffle Ball he played as a kid.
"Just trying to see something up or see a pitch I can square up," Harper said. "I've tried everything against that guy."
Looking for a win over baseball's top team to boost his Cy Young Award resume, Dickey (18-5) mostly pitched out of trouble for seven solid innings. But he gave up a two-run shot to Moore that made it 3-2 in the seventh and was unable to tie Nationals lefty Gio Gonzalez for the major league lead in wins.
Gonzalez beat the Mets 5-1 in the series opener Monday.
Not surprisingly, Dickey got little help from his teammates at the plate. The fading Mets, losers of five in a row and seven of eight, set a club record by failing to score more than three runs for the 12th consecutive home game.
New York has dropped 21 of its past 25 in Queens and is 0-5 on a six-game home stand.
