NEW YORK — Chase Utley joined the ranks of John Rocker and Pete Rose as the object of Mets' fans ire, the focal point of boos and profane chants.
By the fifth inning Monday night his name had become a party tune, with the crowd chirping gleefully, "We want Utley!" and "Where is Utley?"
Two days after his slide to break up a double play broke the right leg of Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada at Dodger Stadium, Utley remained eligible to appear while appealing his two-game suspension.
But the marked man never got in as the Mets took a seven-run lead by the middle innings and routed Los Angeles 13-7 for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five NL Division Series.