And they all point to the fact that the suspension was a figurative gesture meant to enact much more meaningful change at a later date, when heads are cooler, and when the conversation is no longer about whether or not the slide was legal, but instead how to prevent it from happening again in the future. The Mets made their statement early. “They’re our horses and we’ve been riding them all year long”.
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The Mets’ offense exploded off Brett Anderson-the lone Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher not named Clayton Kershaw or Zack Greinke-and cruised to a 13-7 victory to claim a 2-1 series lead. I’m sure Chase Utley will not like to face a Mets pitcher next season. Certainly the Citi Field crowd on Monday night seemed all riled up from the very beginning.
“The greatest retaliation is winning”, Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer said.
Utley was disciplined for sliding hard into New York Mets’ Ruben Tejada in Game 2, causing Tejada to break his leg.
Under the sport’s collective bargaining agreement, Utley’s hearing is to start within 14 days of Major League Baseball receiving the appeal, and penalties are held in abeyance pending a decision.
Reuters, New York: Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Chase Utley may not be the only “villain” New York Mets fans love to hate.
While the Tejada moment was touching, Mets fans took out their frustrations on the man responsible for injuring him.
Utley, a 12-year veteran and six-time All-Star while with the Philadelphia Phillies now reduced to a part-time role with the Dodgers, has always been fierce competitor and as a second baseman himself knows both sides of the issue. “It’s fun when you hit, what was it, I think it was six home runs or something”.
Fans talked tough about their feelings about Tejada. “We all know during the course of a game someone’s going to get knocked down, not intentionally”. Cespedes called the atmosphere in the stadium “incredible”.
Amid speculation the Mets would seek revenge, manager Terry Collins said before the game Harvey was told not to. He never left the bench once the game started. Last year, the Giants won at Pittsburgh in the wild-card game and then rolled past Washington and St. Louis before beating the Royals in the World Series. The play, which permitted the tying run to score in an eventual Dodgers win, resulted in a broken leg for Tejada.
D’Arnaud singled to get New York on the board in the bottom half, and Granderson hit a bases-clearing double to make it 4-3. “We’re going to pick him up, and we’re excited to be back at home”. Cespedes, the star outfielder who arrived at the July 31 trade deadline and propelled the Mets into first place, finished with three hits, including his prodigious blast.
“We’re only anxious about tomorrow”, Rollins said.
“Determining where to draw the line between an illegal slide and a legitimate hard play is an extremely difficult call for our umpires”, Torre said.
“I remember in spring training he really, really had good at-bats”, second baseman Daniel Murphy said.
They already beat Kershaw once in this series, in Game 1. Juan Lagares also scored three times in his first start of the series.
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To keep the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs, Clayton Kershaw might have to end his postseason skid – on short rest.
