New York Mets' R.A. Dickey Is 1st to 9 Wins After Blanking Washington Nationals

At the beginning of the season, who would have thought that the MLB leader in wins on June 7 would be the New York Mets' R.A. Dickey?

Dickey notched his ninth win of the season on Thursday afternoon against the Washington Nationals—the NL East leaders—tossing 7.1 innings of brilliant baseball.

Dickey, who improved to 9-1 on the season, has extended his career-high scoreless streak to 24.2 innings and has struck out 46 batters in his last five starts (36.2 innings.) His ERA is down to 2.44 after Thursday's outing.

He has been on an incredible roll and is on his way to potentially starting the All-Star game next month. There are few better than him in the National League this season.

Dickey had a great year last season, pitching to a 3.28 ERA. His strikeout totals, however, were not impressive and his record was only 8-13, despite pitching better than that record would indicate. This season, he has the strikeout pitch working for him and he is mowing down hitters like never before in his career.

He's being rewarded with wins after coming up short last year. Following the victory over the Nats, Dickey now has more wins than he did all of last season.

It has been a while since a pitcher who dominated with a knuckle ball has shut down an entire league the way that Dickey has. His presence alongside Johan Santana at the front of the Mets rotation could make them a dangerous team if they reach the postseason.

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