NEW YORK — In a scene that seemed inevitable since October, New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard was ejected Saturday night for throwing a 99 mph fastball behind Chase Utley of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Utley later hit a solo home run and a grand slam to help the Dodgers build a 6-0 lead.
The second baseman 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.
The Mets — and their fans — were incensed by the aggressive slide, which led to a change in baseball rules this season designed to protect infielders. But the team had not attempted to retaliate until Saturday night.
With one out and nobody on in the third inning of a scoreless game, Syndergaard’s first pitch to Utley sailed behind the second baseman’s back by a considerable margin.
Plate umpire Adam Hamari immediately ejected Syndergaard, prompting irate Mets manager Terry Collins to come storming out of the dugout. Collins also was ejected after screaming at Hamari and pointing in his face during an animated argument. The manager was finally escorted back toward the New York dugout by another umpire.
After the pitch, Utley raised one hand slightly in the direction of the Dodgers’ bench as if to tell his teammates to remain calm. Nobody besides Collins came onto the field, and Utley headed back toward the bench during the delay.
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.
Logan Verrett entered to pitch for the Mets and, with a vocal contingent of fans urging him to hit Utley with a pitch, eventually threw a called third strike past him. But then Utley homered on Verrett’s first pitch of the sixth to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.
Utley added his sixth career slam off Hansel Robles in the seventh, giving Los Angeles a 6-0 cushion with his 38th career homer against the Mets.
For his slide, Utley was given a two-game suspension by Major League Baseball that was later dropped. While appealing the original penalty, he didn’t play in Games 3 and 4 of last year’s NL Division Series between the Mets and Dodgers at Citi Field.
He flied out as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of the decisive Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, then played all four games without incident from May 9-12 when the teams split a series in Los Angeles.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Utley had put last year’s ruckus behind him. During the off-season, MLB banned takeout slides in what some call the Utley Rule.
“The way he plays the game is the way he’s always played the game,” Roberts said. “There are slides like that every single night that don’t have that result. I know he feels bad.”
In the series opener Friday night, Utley was greeted with loud jeers and derisive chants at Citi Field. He had four RBIs, including a three-run double that tied the score with two outs in the ninth. New York won 6-5 on Curtis Granderson‘s leadoff homer in the bottom half.
Tejada was released by the Mets during spring training and signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, who designated him for assignment Saturday.
