Dickey’s drought finished as Braves win
ATLANTA — R.A. Dickey allowed three hits in seven innings to earn his first win in five weeks and lead the Atlanta Braves over Ben Lively and the Philadelphia Phillies in a 3-1 victory Thursday night.
The 42-year-old Dickey (4-4) set a season high with eight strikeouts. The knuckleballer, who gave up no walks for the first time this season, allowed one run in his first victory since May 2 against the Mets.
Dickey yielded a leadoff single to Tommy Joseph in the second and didn’t allow another hit until Odubel Herrera’s leadoff double in the seventh. Herrera scored from second on Maikel Franco’s single to right field with two out.
Matt Kemp had a run-scoring double in Atlanta’s two-run first inning, and Jim Johnson pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save this season.
One day after Mike Foltynewicz gave up only four hits in seven scoreless innings in a 14-1 win for the Braves, the Phillies again struggled at the plate. Herrera’s double was Philadelphia’s only extra-base hit.
Lively (1-1), a rookie righthander making only his second start, struggled in the first inning. Ender Inciarte walked, moved to second on Brandon Phillips’ double and scored on a grounder to second by Nick Markakis. Kemp’s double drove in Phillips.
Lively didn’t allow another run until the sixth. Matt Adams singled and scored from first when Tyler Flowers doubled over Herrera in center field. Herrera was slow to react before finally turning too late to run toward the wall.
Lively allowed three runs and nine hits in seven innings. He has a 2.57 ERA through two starts in the majors.
With runners at first and second, Inciarte made a running catch at the wall of Cesar Hernandez’s drive off Arodys Vizcaino in the eighth. Inciarte also outran a drive by Aaron Altherr in the ninth.
Flowers caught Dickey for the first time to give the knuckleball specialist’s usual catcher, Kurt Suzuki, a break.