In a scene that has seemed inevitable since October, New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard has been ejected for throwing a 99 miles per hour fastball behind Chase Utley of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Mets manager Terry Collins, on the other hand, had plenty of words for Hamari, who ejected Collins following a lengthy argument.
With one out and nobody on in the top of the third, Syndergaard evoked memories of the feisty 1986 Mets by firing a 99 miles per hour fastball behind the left-handed hitting Utley.
Syndergaard seemed to be on board with that possibility.
Plate umpire Adam Hamari tossed Syndergaard, sending NY manager Terry Collins into a rage, but no trouble ensued between the teams.
An inning later, Utley was greeted by boos again before extending the Dodgers’ lead to 6-0 by blasting a 1-0 pitch from Hansel Robles beyond the right-center-field wall for his sixth career grand slam and his first since July 29, 2014, when he hit a grand slam for the Philadelphia Phillies against the Mets at Citi Field.
The stoic Utley is playing at Citi Field this weekend for the first time since his late takeout slide in last year’s playoffs broke the right leg of then-Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada. Howie Kendrick and Corey Seager also connected. “Possibly. But I understand it”.
After waiting near the mound with teammates for some time, Syndergaard walked calmly to the Mets dugout without showing any emotion as the crowd cheered him.
On Saturday night, they added another chapter to the rivalry.
NY only had three hits Saturday en route to its second loss in eight games. Now that number is 38, as Utley dialed up not one, but two absolutely flawless responses to Syndergaard’s heater. Not only was Syndergaard immediately ejected, which cost NY arguably their best starter right now, Utley was hardly fazed by staring down the 99-mph pitch as it zipped behind him.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Utley had put last year’s ruckus behind him.
“I’m not surprised. He’s always done big damage to us”, NY manager Terry Collins said.
It was perhaps fitting, then, that on the night the franchise exuberantly celebrated its 1986 World Series championship team, Utley was there to spoil the party.
Kenta Maeda (4-3) got the win as he rebounded from a bad start last time he faced NY, allowing no runs on just two hits in five scoreless innings. The 37-year-old led off the sixth inning with a solo shot that gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Juan Lagares hit a pinch-homer in the eighth for the Mets.
Verrett (3-2) was charged with four hits and two runs in 3ª innings. “We battled, and it was a good win”. He was replaced by Yasiel Puig, who hit an RBI single off Verrett in the sixth.
In Milwaukee, Joey Votto scored the go-ahead run in the ninth after an inning-ending double play was overturned, and Cincinnati snapped its 11-game losing streak.
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Up Next:Dodgers (26-24): LA ace Clayton Kershaw takes the mount on Sunday as the Dodgers look to take the series with the Mets. Kershaw is 7-0 with a 1.17 ERA in 10 starts vs. the Mets. New York’s Carlos Beltran hit a solo homer in the fourth for the 2,500th hit of his career.
