Utley on bench to begin Game 3
Chase Utley did not start for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of their NL Division Series against the New York Mets on Monday night.
Instead of Utley, Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly started Howie Kendrick at second.
Utley appealed his twogame suspension assessed by Major League Baseball on Sunday night for an illegal slide in Game 2, which broke the right leg of Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada. The appeal meant the penalty could not start until after a hearing and a decision.
Utley’s hearing didn’t take place Monday. The sides were still trying to agree to a schedule.
Kendrick was 3 for 8 in the first two games of the series, while Utley went 1 for 2 in a pair of appearances as a pinch hitter. Kendrick is 1 for 6 against Mets Game 3 starter Matt Harvey; Utley is 6 for 18.
Tejada’s replacement never in majors: Infielder Matt Reynolds replaced injured Tejada on the Mets’ roster.
Reynolds batted .267 with six homers and 65 RBIs this season for Triple-A Las Vegas, but has never played in the majors. He could become the second player since the first World Series in 1903 to make his big league debut in the postseason, according to STATS. Mark Kiger did it for Oakland in 2006, appearing as a defensive replacement and pinch runner. That was the extent of Kiger’s major league career.
Tejada will miss the rest of the postseason, but won’t need surgery, the team announced.
After the Mets clinched the NL East, Reynolds was one of the players sent to the team’s facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla., to play instructional league games and stay sharp.