Had the Dodgers’ Chase Utley not prevented Ruben Tejada from throwing the ball to first base by sliding into him the inning would have ended. Because it did not, the Dodgers tied the score on that play and then scored three more times to win the game and send the two teams to New York tied at a game apiece in the five-game series.

Depending on which team you’re rooting for that was either a hard but clean slide or it was the dirtiest play since Pete Rose bowled over Ray Fosse in the 1970 All Star Game. X-rays showed Tejada has a broken fibula and is obviously done for the postseason. Interestingly, Utley and Tejada met around second base in September of 2010; neither player was hurt that time.

I come down on the hard-but-clean side of the equation, but I’m a Dodgers fan. The throw from the Mets’ second baseman forced Tejada to start twisting and jumping the moment he reached for the second base bag with his foot; had he not done so he would have seen Utley bearing down on him instead of having his back partially turned and he could have jumped out of the way. Utley was within arm’s reach of the base, so he didn’t go out of the baseline to hit Tejada.