Here’s Chase Utley Getting Mercilessly Booed By Mets Fans

Take the 7 train or the Grand Central Parkway, whatever works.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, who enjoyed a stellar career in New York as first baseman for the Yankees, said the charged atmosphere anticipated in the Big Apple and the focus on Utley was not a factor in his decision to start Howie Kendrick. It was about local lightning rod Matt Harvey’s first postseason appearance, which didn’t necessarily overwhelm but at least came without controversy. Dodgers righty Zack Greinke, who pitched Game 2 of the series, is on track to pitch a potential Game 5 on regular rest against Mets Game 1 starter Jacob deGrom.

He put on his black beanie and walked out of Citi Field with a guard paving his way. Dodgers INF Chase Utley has been hit by a pitch 179 times, most among active players.

Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tuesday’s Game Four of their National League Division Series against the New York Mets, regardless of the outcome of Monday’s pivotal game. New York contested that slide should have been ruled late and been called interference, but the umps allowed it to stand. Despite that, Utley has now been suspended for the next two games. In fact, Mets fans were so vocal that the Dodgers’ introductions actually had to stop for a little because they wouldn’t stop booing Utley. That only heightened the frenzy.

Chase Utley performed what many believed to be an illegal slide last week, barreling into New York Mets second baseman Ruben Tejada, which resulted in a broken leg for the infielder.

Padres All-Star outfielder Justin Upton said on Twitter Saturday night Tejada deserves the same treatment, asserting a “Tulo Rule” would soon be in place if star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had been in Tejada’s cleats. “We can play angry, but we gotta play under control”. The Dodgers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning against Matt Harvey.

Granderson’s five RBIs matched a Mets postseason record set by Carlos Delgado in Game 4 of the 2006 NLCS at St. Louis, when New York set its previous postseason high with 12 runs. Travis d’Arnaud broke out of his slump with three hits and three runs batted in, two on a third-inning home run.

Meanwhile, Mets fans carried anti-Utley signs ranging from the playfully mean…

The crowd did not get its wish. The chants were fiercely in unison, gloating and taunting and sing-songy all the way. A second-round draft pick out of Arkansas in 2012, he appeared in 92 games at shortstop and 11 at second base for the 51s this season after spending much of spring training with the Mets. And the two teams seem to disagree on whether or not the play was dirty. And considering that the Dodgers’ odds of winning the series (according to our Elo ratings) rose from 35 percent to 52 percent with the victory, the slide will probably go down as one of the most pivotal plays of the entire postseason.

In the big picture, 1010 WINS’ John Montone reported, it has been nine long years of epic September collapses and bad tedious baseball for the Mets until now – and playoff baseball has actually come to Citi Field for the first time.

No doubt, Kershaw will be a target Tuesday night. They tagged him with six runs on seven hits.