The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets have built up some animosity over the years. Neither franchise would ever call the other its biggest rival, but the they do have plenty of history in the postseason.
Most recently, the Mets beat the Dodgers in the 2015 National League Division Series. In Game 2 of the series, however, Chase Utley sparked a Dodgers win when he slid into the leg of Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada on a possible double play ball.
Utley was called safe because Tejada never touched second base, and he later scored on a go-ahead double from Adrian Gonzalez. Rage spread over Utley’s ‘dirty’ play, especially among the Mets and their fans.
Utley was already a hated man in New York because of his superb career with their division rival Philadelphia Phillies. When he appeared there in Games 3 and 4 of the NLDS, he was booed heartily.
That treatment continued in the Dodgers’ road trip to Citi Field in 2016. Utley did not respond verbally, but his play in that series said all he needed to.
Utley will come off the disabled list Friday and rejoin the Dodgers for their series against the Mets. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had a tongue-in-cheek response when asked about the fireworks that another Utley-Mets matchup may provide, via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
“The last performance that Chase had in New York was pretty special,” manager Dave Roberts said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Cubs. “You have to give the people what they want.”
In a the third inning of a nationally televised Saturday night game in the aforementioned 2016 series, Noah Sydergaard threw a 99 mph fastball behind Utley and was promptly ejected.
Utley stepped up to the plate in his next at-bat in the sixth inning, and promptly whacked a solo home run to break a scoreless tie. More boos rained down as Utley rounded the bases. The veteran then came up in the seventh inning with the bases loaded.
Utley twisted the knife even deeper in Mets fans’ hearts, hitting a grand slam to turn the game into a rout. The Dodgers eventually won, 9-1, and Utley finished with five RBI.
Adding insult to injury, the Mets used that game to honor their 1986 team that won the World Series, with many Mets legends present to watch Utley almost singlehandedly beat their team.
Utley hit another home run in the first game of the Dodgers’ sweep of the Mets at Citi Field in 2017. That 6-0 win also marked Yu Darvish’s first start after the team acquired him at the trade deadline.
Utley has struggled this season, batting .216 with a .626 on-base plus slugging percentage before landing on the DL with a thumb sprain. A series in the city that hates him most, though, might be just the spark he needs.
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