Dickey Fails in Bid for 19th Victory, as Mets Continue to Struggle at Home Chase Utley hitting a sacrifice fly in the first inning as the Phillies took an early lead against R. A. Dickey and the Mets at Citi Field. The Mets returned to Citi Field, where they will have roughly a week and a half to leave some sort of lasting positive impression upon their fans before the off-season. It may be a losing battle. After falling, 3-1, to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, the Mets have lost seven straight games at Citi Field. At 66-81, they most certainly will not to finish the season at .500 - once a tangible, if optimistic, goal - and they will need a surge to match their win total from last year, 77. During this 10-game homestand, individual achievements have taken center stage. David Wright, for instance, has 1,412 hits, 6 shy of Ed Kranepool for the franchise record. Then, of course, there is R. A. Dickey, a candidate for the National League Cy Young Award. Manager Terry Collins rued the Mets" inability Monday to support his effort with runs. "Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite him too bad," he said. Dickey opened the game by striking out Jimmy Rollins, the first of eight strikeouts he recorded. He brought his season total to 205, second in the N.L. behind Clayton Kershaw, another Cy Young competitor. Dickey also became the 10th pitcher in Mets history and the first since Johan Santana in 2008 to strike out 200 batters in a season. But catcher Mike Nickeas dropped the ball that Rollins whiffed at, letting him scamper to first base. When Rollins came around to score, Dickey's chance to get his 19th victory was damaged. On the plus side for Dickey, that run was unearned, so his gleaming earned run average was not sullied. Collins said Dickey's quest brought a "good atmosphere" to the team. He added, "When your season has had such a drastic turn like ours has, it still gives us some energy to go out and play with." The drastic turn has been reflected in the stands, as the organization appears on track for its third straight season of declining attendance. Through 71 home games, the Mets had drawn 68,374 fewer fans than they did through the same number of games last season. The team attracted 20,527 on Monday, though Rosh Hashana may have affected the figure. The Mets have tried various tactics to bring more people to Citi Field. Tickets to Dickey's final starts at home were sold as a discounted package, and all September, fans with a regular ticket are being offered free tickets for children under 12. One thing the Mets have not offered is winning baseball. Rollins hit a solo home run off Dickey in the fifth, and Domonic Brown belted one of his own in the seventh. Those runs did count against Dickey's E.R.A., which came to rest at 2.67 by the time he was done. Entering the bottom of that inning, displaying his esteem for Dickey's quest, Collins asked him if he wanted to stay in the game to see if the Mets could get him a lead and a win. He declined and was removed for a pinch-hitter. "To manipulate it like that doesn't feel right to me," he said. Dickey figured the he would not be much use at the plate against Cliff Lee, who allowed one run over eight innings and struck out 10. But Lee has just six wins this season: no threat for the Cy Young Award, so no worry for the Mets. The Mets announced a two-year player development contract with the Las Vegas 51s, who will replace the Buffalo Bisons as the organization's Class AAA affiliate.