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          New York Mets

          Five reasons the Mets-Dodgers 'feud' is over

          AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
          • Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff WriterMay 29, 2016, 11:00 AM ET
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              Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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          NEW YORK -- New York Mets manager Terry Collins fears Noah Syndergaard may incur a suspension for throwing a 99 mph fastball behind Chase Utley in the third inning of Saturday's 9-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. And while fans packing Citi Field for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball undoubtedly will give Utley an earful, it's extremely likely the episode is over from an on-field perspective. Here are five reasons why:

          1. Utley expected to get hit. Despite plate umpire Adam Hamari ejecting Syndergaard and interfering in natural events, major league players typically are accustomed -- and accepting -- of retaliation and players policing themselves. Utley himself gave an interview entering the series in which he indicated he expected to get hit with a pitch. So the pitch by Syndergaard was the closure to last year's Game 2 slide in the National League Division Series by Utley that fractured Ruben Tejada's right leg, not an intermediate point in a prolonged dispute.

          2. Retaliate for what? The bottom line is Utley didn't even get hit. So against what exactly would the Dodgers be retaliating? When Sean Estes missed Roger Clemens' backside in 2002, that was the (unacceptable) end to that saga.

          3. Too good to get tossed. Let's not forget Clayton Kershaw is starting for the Dodgers on Sunday night. And that means the distinct possibility of a complete game. Kershaw already has three shutouts in his first 10 starts of the season. There's no chance he invites an ejection from the game. And there's definitely no reason for him to invite a suspension.

          4. Time expired. Sunday night marks the seventh and final game of the season series. So if it's not happening on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball with Kershaw on the mound, it's not happening this season. And if it's not happening this season, it's over.

          5. There was limited hostility anyway. How much do the Mets and Dodgers really hate each other? Yes, Syndergaard -- in all likelihood purposely -- threw behind Utley. So there was some motivation to make things right. (After Saturday's game, Collins acknowledged the fastball likely was delivered with the same purpose as Thor's pitch to Alcides Escobar to open Game 3 of the World Series.) But Tejada is long gone. He even was designated for assignment by the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Time has passed since the NLDS. And there really seems to be no developing blood feud between the Mets and Dodgers.