Tonight, I channel Oprah Winfrey and her famous car giveaway in my synopsis of the New York Mets 9 – 1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers – You get a homerun! You get a homerun! You get a homerun! You all get homeruns!
Before the first pitch, New York was 4-0 this season at home when they draw more than 40,000 fans and tonight was practically a sell-out, but nope a victory wouldn’t be in the cards.
The Dodgers’ Chase Utley powered two homeruns over the wall, including a whopping grand slam that really just seem to slam the Dodgers’ victory down the throats of the New York Mets. Adrian Gonzalez and Corey Seager also hit solo homeruns. The Mets did score one run, which was also a solo shot by Juan Lagares in the bottom of the 8th inning, but it was a little too late.
The game started off with Thor himself, Noah Syndergaard, on the mound for the New York Mets, but a wild throw that went behind Chase Utley in the top of the 3rd inning sent Syndergaard, and Terry Collins, to the locker room early. The ump called Syndergaard – who was the National League Player of the Week for the week of May 16-22 — out of the game almost immediately – no warning, which is standard for a pitch that seemed more like a threat than a wild throw. No warning at all. The ump went straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. When Terry Collins came out and threw a much-expected tizzy, he joined Syndergaard and they watched the game from the locker room.
Logan Verrett came into the game to replace Syndergaard and pitched 3.2 innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs while striking out 3. The Mets also utilized Bastardo, Robles, Blevins, and Henderson, but nothing could stop the Dodgers bats that were hotter than the 90 degree temperatures on the field.
Utley, who comes to New York already with a history of controversy, decided to add the icing on the cake and show New York that he’s not fazed by anything that’s going on. His two homeruns really were that exclamation point and I’m sure at that point New York Mets fans were looking for a way to trip him on the way out of the stadium.
The ump’s call prompted a long discussion about what baseball needs to do when an ump makes an obviously wrong call. Should the other umps had called a meeting and told him that Syndergaard really just deserved a warning? There are instant replays for other things, shouldn’t there be something that protects when an ump really needs to reverse his decision?
Regardless, the now first place Mets lost this one. The grand slam sucked the air out of the stadium on a night where the attendees had a remarkable opportunity to see the 1986 New York Mets back on the field again.
As we head to the 8th inning, we remember Gary Carter. #RIPKid8 #Mets86https://t.co/pSGYVKuVED
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 29, 2016
(Oh man, I remember the night we won the World Series that year like it was yesterday. I watched the final out on a small portable television in Grand Central Station in New York City with about 15 other people. The sound of the train station when the fans erupted after the win was something I’ll never forget.)
The Mets take the field on Sunday at 8pm in the rubber game of the Dodger series with Bartolo Colon on the mound. The last time he faced the Dodgers, he posted his worst start of the season: five runs in five innings. It was, however, the same day that his personal troubles landed on the cover of a crappy New York newspaper, so that might have been a clear distraction. He’s also had particular trouble over the years with Adrian Gonzalez, who is 12-for-27 (.444) against him with two doubles and two home runs.
The Mets will need to bring their A game against the Dodgers on Sunday as they go against the phenomenal Clayton Kershaw, who has been absolutely dominant this month. He tossed three shutouts in five May starts, yielding three earned runs across 42 innings. He’s struck out 55 batters against just two walks in that span.
