Asked last night if he looked forward to facing R.A. Dickey and having a chance to damage the New York Mets' right-hander's chances of winning the NL Cy Young award that Gio Gonzalez might be a candidate for as well, Nats' skipper Davey Johnson said honestly, "Not really. He's a great pitcher, he's had a great year and he's tough to hit. Even [Bryce] Harper said he didn't really like facing him so that tells you what kind of year Dickey's been having." Through 29 games (28 GS) this season the 37-year-old knuckleballer has put up a 2.64 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 45 walks (2.05 BB/9) and 195 Ks (8.86 K/9) in 198.0 IP for New York. Dickey is (2-1) with a 3.05 ERA, four walks and 20 Ks in three starts and 20.2 IP against the Nationals this season, shutting Washington out over 7.1 IP in his first outing of the year against the Nats back on June 7th but then giving up a combined 18 hits and nine runs (seven earned) in 13.1 IP over two starts against the Mets' NL East rivals in July. Dickey's won three straight starts and four of six overall with NY 4-2 over the same stretch with their knuckleballing ace on the mound. Ryan Zimmerman (9 for 27, 1 2B, 1 HR), Michael Morse (7 for 24, 2 2B) and Jayson Werth (11 for 25, 3 2B, 2 HRs) have hit Dickey well over their respective careers, however, and they're all in the Nats' lineup tonight backing up Jordan Zimmermann in game two of three in Citi Field in Flushing, Queens. Harper? He's 0 for 10 w/ 6 Ks vs Dickey so far in his rookie campaign. Here's the Nats' lineup:
Davey's Lineup-Tue @ NYM/G142: Werth rf, Harper cf, Zimmerman 3b, LaRoche 1b, Morse lf, Desmond ss, Espinosa 2b, Suzuki c, Zimmermann rhp.
— Nationals PR (@NationalsPR) September 11, 2012