Image Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Who would’ve thought that a knuckle baller would be the best pitcher in the National League?  Not this guy.

R.A. Dickey leads the NL in wins (11) and ERA (2.00) and just recorded his second straight one-hitter.  Way to ruin the fun, Wilson Betemit.

Though Monday night’s strike zone was big, the Orioles didn’t complain about the calls from home plate umpire Eric Cooper, but instead tipped their cap to Dickey.

“He was all over the place and trying to hit it was almost impossible tonight,” Orioles first baseman/third baseman/right fielder/late inning reliever Chris Davis told The Sun’s Dan Connolly.  “We had one hit so you got to tip your hat to him.”

There’s only so much preparation the Orioles can do for a guy like Dickey.  “You don’t see knuckleballers often,” J.J. Hardy said after the game.  “You can’t prepare for it, just hope that he can’t throw it for a strike.”

He can and he did.

The Orioles lineup will face a guy who throws normal pitches tonight as Johan Sanata squares off against Tommy Hunter.

At least the O’s didn’t get the toughest part of the Mets rotation.