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Chase Utley Thwarts Thor as Dodgers Beat Mets 9-1

Chase Utley hit two home runs including a grand slam and the Dodgers hit five total homers in their 9-1 rout over the New York Mets on Saturday at Citi Field.

LOS ANGELES – Every hero needs a villain, and for the New York Mets, his name is Chase Utley.

Utley didn't flinch when Noah Syndergaard threw a 99 MPH fastball behind his head, but Utley got the last laugh with two home runs including a grand slam as the Los Angeles Dodgers thwarted "Thor" and the Mets, 9-1, on Saturday night at Citi Field.

Syndergaard, known by his nickname of "Thor," was ejected in the third inning by home plate umpire Adam Hamari for throwing behind the back of Utley as last season's National League Division Series spilled back onto the field on Saturday.

Utley famously broke the leg of former Mets' shortstop Ruben Tejada with a takeout slide in Game 2 of the postseason between New York and Los Angeles last year.

Syndergaard has a history of throwing at batters and Hamari didn't hesitate to eject the hard-throwing right-hander as soon as he threw at Utley. Terry Collins immediately ran onto the field to argue the decision and Hanari tossed him from the game too.

Meanwhile, with ice water running in his veins, Utley patiently watched the drama unfold expressionless. The longtime nemesis of New York since his early days with the Phillies knew the time for revenge would come.

Utley homered in the top of the sixth inning and then hit a grand slam in the top of the seventh as the Dodgers' second baseman single-handedly defeated the Mets with his bat on Saturday.

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The full-diamond moon shot was Utley's sixth grand slam of his career as the 37-year-old recorded his 22nd multi-homer game.

It was a home run derby at Citi Field in the later innings as six total homers were hit in the game. In addition to Utley's two long balls, Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick and Corey Seager went deep in the eight and ninth innings.

Juan Lagares put the Mets on the board in the bottom half of the inning when he homered in back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Kenta Maeda (4-3) got the win as he rebounded from a bad start last time he faced New York, allowing no runs on just two hits in five scoreless innings. 

Casey Fien struck out the side in the ninth inning in his Dodgers debut. 

Players of the Game:

Chase Utley: 2-for-5 with two home runs, a grand slam, and five RBI.
Kenta Maeda:
No runs on 2 hits with 3 strikeouts in five innings.
Adrian Gonzalez: 4-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored.

Three Takeaways:

1. The Chaser of Citi Field: Chase Utley owns the New York Mets. After a four-RBI game on Friday night, Utley had two home runs and five RBI on Saturday. He hit his sixth career grand slam and first since 2014, which was also at Citi Field.

2. Home Run Derby: The Los Angeles Dodgers hit five home runs on Saturday night as Chase Utley, Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick and Corey Seager all went deep. It was the first time the Dodgers had five or more home runs in a game since Sept. 4, 2015 in San Diego against the Padres.

3. The New York Nemesis: Chase Utley played the role of villain to perfection on Saturday as he was first thrown at, then got the last laugh as he homered not once, but twice, including a grand slam. On Utley's first home run, Mets' fans were chanting "hit him, hit him, hit him," before Utley hit it out of the park. Utley now has 37 HR versus the Mets, the most versus any opponent in his career.

Up Next:
Dodgers (26-24): LA ace Clayton Kershaw takes the mount on Sunday as the Dodgers look to take the series with the Mets.

Mets (28-120): Bartolo Colon opposes Kershaw on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball at 5:00 PM PST. 

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