Mets' Dickey is first knuckleballer in over three decades to win 20 games

METS RIGHTHANDER R.A. Dickey was so close yet so far from 20 wins, faltering from fatigue and fuming he had failed to seize the moment.

"About the fourth or fifth inning I felt exasperated. I was not myself today for the most part," he said.

"And then I'd come out for an at-bat and I would hear this kind of growing surge, and it really was neat. I mean, I don't know if I've ever experienced something like that before. Maybe I never will again. Although I wasn't distracted from the moment, how could you not be motivated to go out there and give the fans and, well, your teammates and yourself all that you have?" he said.

Absorbing the energy from 31,506 fans at the final home game of another sorry Mets season, Dickey summoned his strength and concentration. David Wright boosted him into the lead with a tiebreaking, three-run homer, and Dickey led New York over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5, Thursday to become the first knuckleballer in more than three decades to win 20 games.

Throwing his hard knuckler at up to 78 mph, Dickey (20-6) allowed three runs and eight hits in 7 2/3 innings, tying his career high with 13 strikeouts and walking two.

Quite a turnaround from 2010, when Dickey began the season at Triple A Buffalo and had to prove he belonged in the majors. And from last year, when he was 8-13.

The 37-year-old had never won more than 11 games in any previous season and is just 61-56 in his big-league career.

Dickey became the first 20-game winner for the pitching-proud Mets since Frank Viola in 1990 and the first knuckleballer to accomplish the feat since Houston's Joe Niekro in 1980, according to STATS LLC.

At Cincinnati, Todd Frazier tied the game with a two-out homer in the ninth inning, and Dioner Navarro followed with an RBI triple that sent the Reds to a 2-1 victory and dealt a major setback to the Milwaukee Brewers' playoff chances.

The Brewers slipped four games behind idle St. Louis for the final NL wild card with six games left.

* At Denver, Jordan Pacheco and DJ LeMahieu each homered, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 7-5 win over the Chicago Cubs for a three-game series sweep.

Pacheco, Wilin Rosario and Chris Nelson had two hits apiece for the Rockies, who had 12 hits in their final home game of 2012.

* At San Francisco, Hunter Pence and Marco Scutaro each hit two-run homers in the second inning to back Barry Zito (14-8), and the NL West champion Giants beat Arizona, 7-3, in their regular-season home finale.

* At Atlanta, Tommy Hanson (13-9) earned his first win since July, and the Braves scored two runs on Miami leftfielder Bryan Petersen's error during a 6-2 victory over the Marlins.

Bo Porter has been hired as manager of the Houston Astros.

Porter, who was the Washington Nationals third-base coach this season, replaces Brad Mills, who was fired last month. Tony DeFrancesco has served as interim manager.

The 40-year-old Porter has previously worked as Arizona's bench coach and third base coach for the Marlins. He played parts of three major league seasons with Texas, the Chicago Cubs and Oakland.

* As expected, the San Francisco Giants have informed Melky Cabrera's agent they won't bring the suspended outfielder back at any point this postseason.

The All-Star Game MVP, batting an NL-leading .346, was suspended Aug. 15 for a positive testosterone text.

* The Miami Marlins said they have signed Adam Greenberg to a 1-day contract, effective Oct. 2, and will play him that day against the New York Mets so that he can get an official at-bat in the major leagues. Greenberg made his big- league debut for the Chicago Cubs on July 9, 2005 against the Marlins. He entered the game as a pinch-hitter and was hit in the head by a pitch by Valerio De Los Santos. He left the game without getting an official at-bat.

After struggles in the minors the next season, the Cubs released him in June 2006. The 31-year-old Greenberg had chances with other minor league teams, but never made the majors again. He said he hopes to go to spring training next season.