Curtis Granderson saves Mets after Chase Utley’s game-tying hit
We hope you took advantage of the Yahoo Sports Free Game of the Day on Friday. Otherwise you may have missed what was arguably the best game of the season to date.
After the Dodgers rallied from a four-run ninth-inning deficit and tied the game on Chase Utley’s two-out, bases-clearing double, the Mets still emerged victorious, 6-5, thanks to Curtis Granderson’s dramatic walk-off home run.
[Related: Chase Utley expects hostile Mets fans still upset with playoff slide]
What a wild and crazy finish it was. A finish we’d say is befitting of the rivalry that is developing between these two talented clubs.
The Dodgers and Mets have plenty of built-in drama based on their history from last season’s NLDS. Friday’s matchup featured the added bonus of Julio Urias making his much-anticipated MLB debut. Though tempers remained calm and Urias ultimately faltered, the game still featured more thrills and fireworks than you could hope for in a regular season game in May.
Of course, most of the drama leading in surrounded Utley. That’s because of his aggressive and controversial October slide that left then Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada injured. That meant the spotlight was on Utley every time he hit Friday night, just because we were curious to see how he’d be received and how the Mets might go about pitching him.
[Related: Julio Urias struggles in MLB debut, but better days are ahead]
The reception was what you’d expect — an endless chorus of boos. The Mets approach was more civil, as they handled Utley as they would any other hitter. But it was almost inevitable that regardless of reception and approach, sometime during this series Utley would bat in a game-changing situation. It also felt inevitable that Utley would somehow come through, further cementing a villainous persona in New York that was first established during his days with the Phillies.
Mets fans have seen this story before, and they knew they needed a hero to make it right from their perspective. That’s where Granderson comes in. He wasted no time hitting a towering home run off Pedro Baez that narrowly cleared the wall.
The home run not only secured a Mets win, it overshadowed Utley’s moment and reduced it to a mere footnote. To Mets fans, that moment may have been more satisfying than the result itself. Sure, a win is a win under any circumstances, but ensuring Chase Utley played no role in their demise will no doubt gives it some extra meaning.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
