Wainwright homer not enough to spark offense

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- R.A. Dickey became the first pitcher in the majors to win 18 games this season, and Ike Davis hit a three-run homer to lift the New York Mets to a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. The knuckleballer allowed two runs in 6 2-3 innings en route to his 18th win, the first Mets pitcher to reach the mark since Frank Viola (20-12) and Dwight Gooden (19-7) both did it in 1990. Dickey (18-4) gave up eight hits and struck out five to help New York salvage a win to close out the three-game series. Davis gave the Mets a 5-1 lead with his 26th homer, and Daniel Murphy went 3-for-4 to lift his average in day games to an NL-best .351 (65 for 185). Josh Thole and Andres Torres had RBI singles, and Lucas Duda drove in the Mets' other run with a bases-loaded walk. The Mets did most of their damage off of Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (13-12), who allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings. However, Wainwright delivered the Cardinals' first run when he led off the third inning with a home run against Dickey. It was Wainwright's first homer of the season but the sixth in his major league career. Former first-round pick Shelby Miller was much more effective for the Cardinals. Making his Major League debut, Miller struck out four batters in two innings of scoreless relief, including fanning the side in the seventh. After Wainwright's homer cut the Mets' advantage to 2-1, New York stretched its lead in the fifth on Davis' shot. Mike Baxter led off with a single and went to third one out later on Murphy's single. They scored on Davis' drive over the right field fence. NOTES: Kyle Lohse (14-2) will seek to match Ted Wilkes, who started 15-2 in 1944, for the best start to a season for a Cardinals pitcher when he faces the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. ... Dickey's ERA of 2.64 is second in the NL to Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto (2.58). ... The crowd of 30,090 was the smallest of the season in St. Louis. ... The game ended on a 9-4-6 double play when Adron Chambers was called out for failing to retouch second base as he retreated to first on Yadier Molina's fly ball to right.