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R.A. Dickey Makes Rare, Awful Relief Appearance

The Mets called on R.A. Dickey for an inning of relief work on Saturday. It did not end well.

Jul 21, 2012, 8:51 PM UTC

Jul 19, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) throws in the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.

I guess it's finally official: R.A. Dickey is not made out of magic.

The New York Mets superstar knuckleballer was called upon to pitch an inning of relief on Saturday afternoon against the Los Angeles Dodgers. For the second time in two days, the Mets were trailing the Dodgers by one run late in the game. The Mets, who fell behind early and were trying to claw their way back into the game, went to Dickey to try to hold the score at 6-5 at the beginning of the ninth inning.

Dickey, who had been fantastic throughout June but has come back to earth in July, got the first two outs with ease, before giving up a two-strike bloop double and then serving up a massive two-run homer to Juan Uribe (who had entered the game in a 1-for-38 slump) to make it 8-6 Dodgers and effectively break the Mets' back.

Dickey closed out the inning without further damage, but the Mets were sunk by the home run.

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