The roar started immediately after Jimmy Rollins singled to lead off the bottom of the first inning last night at Citizens Bank Park.
The ovation was not for Rollins, however. It was for the guy stepping into the batters box.
Welcome back, Chase Utley.
The second baseman appeared in his first game of the season last night, after missing all of spring training and the team’s first 46 games with a cranky right knee.
Utley promptly went 0-for5. But he was followed by Placido Polanco, who lifted a ball into the leftfield seats for a two-run home, sparking the Phillies’ biggest offensive night since last season.
In fact, Utley was the only Phils’ starter who did not record a hit, but his presence was felt everywhere in the jammed park as the Phils shook off the doldrums that have silenced their bats for weeks.
The Phillies pounded out 10 runs on 14 hits. The 7-spot they dropped on the Reds in the third equaled their output in the previous week’s worth of games.
So how much did Utley’s presence mean for the Phils, especially after he took an 0-fer? Don’t look for me to knock it.
You can read Ryan Lawrence’s take on the game here.
And columnist Jack McCaffery believes the guy offering the biggest sigh of relief may have been GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
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