ATLANTA _ During an eight-week stretch into mid-August, the Atlanta Braves' pending decision on whether to pick up an $8 million option on R.A. Dickey's contract for 2018 was starting to look like an easy "yes."
But since then, the 42-year-old knuckleballer has given reason to pause and think it through, as he's looked at times like a pitcher who'll turn 43 at the end of October, just before the Braves have to make up their minds.
Dickey allowed eight hits, five runs and two walks with no strikeouts in five innings of a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets on Saturday night at SunTrust Park. He has one win and a 6.55 ERA in his past six starts.
Until Lane Adams' two-run, two-out pinch-hit single in the ninth inning, Freddie Freeman's 27th homer was about the only highlight for the Braves, and it came with two out in the sixth inning when they trailed 5-0.
It was on the third loss for the Braves in their past 10 games, but against the Mets they've dropped 17 of their past 23 games played in Atlanta.
The Mets snapped a five-game losing skid and flamethrower Jacob DeGrom collected his 15th win _ though just the second in his past seven starts _ while limiting the Braves to five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings.
For Dickey, it was only the second time in his past 84 strikeouts that he failed to record a strikeout, and the first time this season. Half of the Mets' hits were doubles including three consecutive doubles to start the third inning.
Dickey was 4-0 with a 2.13 ERA in four career starts against the Mets before Saturday, when he gave up one fewer run in five innings than he allowed in 25 1/3 innings over his previous starts against the team he won a Cy Young Award with in 2012. He won two starts against them this season in April and May.
Dickey is 1-3 with a 6.55 ERA and .333 opponents' average in his past six starts, after going 4-2 with a 2.12 ERA and .230 OA over his previous 10. In his past six starts he's allowed eight or more hits four times and given up four or more runs five times.
In each of his past three games, Dickey has given up at least five earned runs and lasted five or fewer innings. He left that early in only three of his first 26 starts.
DeGrom (15-9) moved to 12th place on the Mets single-season strikeout list with 228, just behind Dickey, who had 230 strikeouts and 20 wins in his 2012 Cy Young Award season.
DeGrom was 1-4 with a 5.35 ERA in his past six starts before Saturday, and the Mets had scored two or fewer runs while he was in four of those games and three runs while he was in another.
But against the Braves and Dickey, the Mets scored two runs on four hits in the second inning and added two more runs in the third when they started the inning with three consecutive doubles by Norichika Aoki, Brandon Nimmo and Astrubal Cabrera.
After Juan Lagares drew a leadoff walk in the Mets' fourth inning, Gavin Cecchini doubled him in to push the lead to 5-0. It was Cecchini's second RBI of the night and the second of his career-high three hits.
