The New York Mets entered Game Three against the Los Angeles Dodgers with more than a baseball game to win, they entered with the whole city and more on their side rooting for payback to Chase Utley‘s attack on Ruben Tejada.
No one knew how the Mets would respond, or what starter Matt Harvey would do. With the suspension of Utley and then the appeal, the stage was set for a drama filled game.
Would Harvey respond by hitting a Dodgers player, or would he focus on the job at hand and just beat LA?
Well the later is what took place at a sold out Citi Field and even though the fans may have wanted to see Utley take his punishment like a man, it was better that the team took care of business on the field.
But first the Mets had to overcome a quick three run second inning from the Dodgers as they looked to have Harvey’s number. After a 1-2-3 top of the first for Harvey, the Mets went down in order in their half.
In the top of the second, the Dodgers struck first with four straight singles resulting in three runs which was also helped by a throwing error from Curtis Granderson in right field.
But the Mets responded in the bottom of the inning with three straight singles of their own and adding a run to pull within 3-1. Then with the bases loaded and two outs, Granderson put his teammates on his back and drove the ball off the right center field fence for a three-run double to put the Mets ahead 4-3.
As Harvey kept the Dodgers in check, the Mets went back to work in the bottom of the third and added two more runs to their lead after Travis d’Arnaud launched a shot over the left field wall to extend the lead to 6-3.
The Mets were not done yet, as they added a four spot in the fourth, highlighted by three-run bomb off the bat of Yoenis Cespedes, that landed in the left field second deck at Citi Field. A monster shot propelled the Mets to a 10-3 lead.
In the seventh, with Bartolo Colon on the mound in relief of Harvey, the Dodgers managed to get a run back in the seventh inning when Adrian Gonzalez took Bartolo Colon deep to make the score 10-4.
But the night belonged to the Mets as they added four more runs in the bottom of the seventh, when pinch hitter Michael Conforto hit a bases loaded sac fl scoring d’Arnaud from third, then Granderson followed with his second double of the game scoring two more runs to extend the lead to 13-4.
In the ninth, Collins opted to put Erik Goeddel in the game and he promptly gave up three runs on a line drive home run over the left field fence from Howie Kendrick. But Collins summoned Jeurys Familia to the mound and he shut the door on the Dodgers and any chance of a major comeback.
With all of the offense the Mets showcased, it took away from the fact that Harvey struggled a bit early against the Dodgers. Even though he gave up the three runs in second inning, a lot can be said that even though he didn’t have his best stuff, Monday’s game was his first start in 10 days and he may have been really amped up to have a great outing for his teammates and the fans.
But he did his job and finished the game tossing five innings, allowing two earned runs, on seven hits, two walks and struck out seven batters.
With the win the Mets are one game away from advancing to the NLCS. Steven Matz will be called on to start Game Four at Citi Field on Tuesday against Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw. First pitch is scheduled for 8:00 pm.
Game Notes:
Chase Utley was not used in the game but he did receive a loud booing ovation during the introductions.
Ruben Tejada was on hand and limped his way onto the field to take his place with his teammates and he entered to a loud, roaring standing ovation.
Top Performers:
Dodgers
Howie Kendrick – 2 for 5, R, HR, 3 RBI
Adrian Gonzalez – 2 for 4, R, HR, RBI
Justin Turner – 2 for 4
Andre Ethier – 2 for 5, R
Mets
Curtis Granderson – 2 for 5, 2 Doubles, 5 RBI
Yoenis Cespedes – 3 for 5, 3 R, HR, 3 HR
Travis d’Arnaud – 3 for 5, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI
Wilmer Flores – 2 for 3, 2 R, Double
Juan Lagares – 1 for 3, 3 R, Double
David Conde
David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.
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