TORONTO – Rarely do the Braves face a knuckleballer these days, and some probably wish they could. Specifically, they probably wish that former Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey pitched for a National League East team again instead of the Blue Jays of the American League East.
The Braves got four runs and four hits in seven innings Saturday against Dickey, including home runs by Freddie Freeman and A.J. Pierzysnki. They built a 4-0 lead against him, but the Mets came with three runs in the seventh inning, two in the eighth and won it on Josh Donaldson’s walkoff homer in the 10th inning.
As far as Dickey was concerned, it was another rough day against the Braves, albeit far better than his recent outings against them. He got no decision and remained 2-6 with a 5.10 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) against the Braves, including 0-2 with a 9.27 ERA in his past four starts against them, three in Atlanta during 2012-2013.
Dickey came in with a 2.48 ERA and .205 opponents’ average in his past 12 starts since early August, and the Braves snapped his streak of nine consecutive quality starts. He gave up multiple home runs for the first time in 15 starts, but it’s the second time in his past four starts against the Braves that he allowed multiple homers.
Freeman’s two-run, two-out homer in the third inning pushed the Braves’ lead to 3-0. It was third homer against Dickey for Freeman, who is 11-for-23 with seven RBIs against him. Pierzysnki, who homered on the first pitch of the fourth inning, is 6-for-18 with two homers against Dickey.
Freeman has a simple approach against the knuckleballer.
“You’ve just got to put your foot down and see it up,” he said. “He throws it between 67 and 80 miles an hour, so you’re just trying to see one up (in the strike zone) and hopefully it doesn’t move as much.”
The Braves first baseman also has three walks against Dickey, including one in the first inning Saturday. Still, Freeman said he doesn’t value patience against him.
“The ball’s not going to do the same thing, so there’s no point in seeing a pitch,” said Freeman, who fouled off the first pitch of his second plate appearance Saturday, then homered on the next pitch. “You’re just trying to see one up, see one in the middle, and go after it. Sometimes he’s a little wild, and he was a little wild today.”
