PHOENIX -- R.A. Dickey picked a fine time to snap a string of subpar performances. Dickey escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second inning unscathed and ended up limiting the Diamondbacks to one run in seven innings as the Mets completed a split of their four-game series at Arizona with a 5-1 win Sunday.

Dickey entered the start off an outing against Washington that snapped a streak of 11 straight winning decisions. He entered Sunday with a 6.49 ERA in July, after positing a 0.93 ERA the previous month.

Dickey's 14th win tied him with Tampa Bay's David Price for the major league lead.

The knuckleballer's success came despite fighting a stomach ailment.

"It kind of comes and goes," Dickey said postgame about Sunday's ailment. "I feel all right this second. I just felt a little bit of nausea early in the game."

Said Terry Collins: "That's the R.A. Dickey that we saw in the first half. He didn't feel good the entire game. And all he did is went out and battled, which is what we've seen. He got us where we needed to be -- deep in the game. And, fortunately, we scored some runs and gave him a lead. He was ill a little bit today. So when he came out of the game in the seventh, he just said, 'That's it.' And I said, 'Fine. We'll hold it.'"

Dickey allowed a one-out single to Paul Goldschmidt in the second inning. He then hit Miguel Montero with a pitch and loaded the bases with two outs on a walk to Gerardo Parra. But Dickey escaped by retiring opposing pitcher Joe Saunders on a pop fly to Ruben Tejada.

"Surprisingly, I had a pretty good knuckleball from the beginning -- that inning included," Dickey said. "The one that hit Montero had zero spin on it. It just took off straight left and hit him in the arm. He crowds the plate anyway. I just kept telling myself, 'Stay with it. It's pretty good.' When I got out of that inning, it was nice to get out of it without giving up anything."

The lone run came in the sixth and was unearned. Aaron Hill reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Tejada. A passed ball charged to Josh Thole moved Hill to third. Hill scored on Goldschmidt's ensuing single. By then, though, the Mets still owned a 4-1 lead.

In Dickey's seventh and final inning, Parra led off with a single, but pinch hitter Ryan Wheeler grounded into a 3-6-1 double play.

"I was looking for a groundball there," Dickey said. "I tried to throw a knuckleball that had some late, down movement instead of an elevated one. And I was able to execute that. And, sure enough, Wheeler hit the top of it right to Ike [Davis]. I was fortunate [Wheeler] didn't run over my foot. It was right in the middle of the bag. But, thankfully, he didn't. We got a double play. And that's a real momentum-changer there."