Watch: Syndergaard ejected for throwing behind Utley

Tensions between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers were revived Saturday night in explosive fashion, when right-hander Noah Syndergaard was ejected from the game for throwing a 99-mph fastball behind Chase Utley during the top of the third inning.

With one out and nobody on in the third inning of a scoreless game, Syndergaard's first pitch of the at-bat sailed behind Utley, narrowly missing the Dodgers second baseman, and triggered his immediate ejection. An irate Terry Collins jettisoned from the dugout to protest the ejection and was tossed as well by plate umpire Adam Hamari. Right-hander Logan Verrett replaced Syndergaard and fanned Utley on three straight called strikes.

Related: Baseball world split over Syndergaard's quick ejection

The bad blood between the two sides has been festering since last year's National League Division Series, when Utley broke Ruben Tejada's leg with a violent takeout slide at second base. Utley was initially suspended two games, but never served the ban because there was no such rule in place to prohibit those types of slides last season.

Utley's return to Citi Field was met with vitriol Friday after Mets fans showered the former All-Star infielder with boos in his first visit to Queens since the infamous slide. He nearly broke the hearts of Mets fans again when he cleared the bases with a game-tying, three-run double in the ninth, but Curtis Granderson erased the villainous heroics with a walk-off homer in the bottom half of the inning.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)