WHAT IT MEANS: Josh Thole was unable to hold a one-hop throw from Ronny Cedeño during a plate collision with Carlos Quentin and the tiebreaking run scored in the seventh inning. The Padres went on to hand R.A. Dickey a tough-luck 3-1 defeat Friday night at Petco Park. It was only the knuckleballer’s third loss in 17 decisions this season.

Dickey -- who held the Padres hitless until Yonder Alonso’s one-out single in the fifth -- surrendered a one-out single to Quentin in the seventh. Alonso followed with a double to right-center that narrowly eluded diving Scott Hairston.

Quentin attempted to score all the way from first base, and appeared poised to be out by several steps after Thole received the relay throw from Cedeño. But Quentin went in hard and dislodged the baseball from Thole. Alonso, who had taken third base on the throw to the plate, scored on John Baker’s ensuing line single to left field.

Thole had suffered a concussion -- likely his fourth as a professional ballplayer -- in Philly on May 7 in a plate collision with Ty Wigginton.

He was charged with an error for failing to hold the baseball Friday.

Dickey departed for pinch hitter Justin Turner with the Mets trailing by two runs the following half-inning. The knuckleballer’s line: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K.

Turner and Ruben Tejada had back-to-back singles to open the eighth, but Luke Gregerson struck out Andres Torres and David Wright. Closer Huston Street then entered and retired pinch hitter Jordany Valdespin on a groundout to second base.

WHAT’S NEXT: Ex-Padres farmhand Jeremy Hefner (1-4, 5.52 ERA), who was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh and then by the Mets during the offseason, opposes right-hander Edinson Volquez (7-7, 3.51) at 8:35 p.m. ET Saturday.