With the familiar strains of Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir blaring through Citizens Bank Park, catcher Cameron Rupp and home plate umpire Ron Kulpa stepped out of the batter’s circle to give Utley the full spotlight that he deserved in his return as the Philadelphia fans saluted Utley with almost 90-seconds of standing applause to welcome him back. The card is part of Topps NOW series – which mean it’s only available for 24 hours.
Advertisement
For nearly his entire career as a Philadelphia Phillie, Chase Utley made the spectacular routine.
He later hit a solo homer off Philadelphia starter Vince Velasquez, then added a grand slam off reliever Michael Mariot, as the Dodgers rolled to a 15-5 victory. Though the Phillies were on the losing end of the game, Philly fans were still overjoyed to see their former star.
Ryan Howard and Chase Utley homering in the same game brought back memories for Phillies fans. It was Utley’s seventh career grand slam. And even though Utley’s cap was blue, Howard always will consider him a teammate. The problem with a bracket supporting protective netting in front of the scoreboard was to be corrected after the game, the team said. “And that’s the kind of player you want everybody to be like, that cares and wants to win, smart player, just a great addition to any team”. The outpouring of affection for Utley was a fitting tribute for his 13 years of hard, professional play, and his contribution to the Phillies’ extended run of success from 2007 to 2011. I don’t really know the guy much myself, but to have an ovation like that is incredible.
The curtain calls came after a raucous introduction of Utley when he stepped to the plate to leadoff the game. “They motivated us, they pushed us in the right direction, and I’m a true believer that the fans made us better players individually and gave us a chance to win on a daily basis”.
Utley was traded last August 19 and never got a chance to acknowledge the fans because the trade wasn’t finalized until after the game that night.
“I should be thanking them”, Utley said. “If I were to write up a script (last year), it would have gone a bit differently”. Utley remains one of the most beloved Philadelphia athletes ever for his talent, hustle and grit.
The National League West-leading Dodgers have hit 16 homers in six games against the Phillies this season, seven while outscoring them 22-7 in the first two games of the series.
Now only if the Dodgers could get Utley to play like this in stadiums not named Citizens Bank Park, they’d be on to something.
Utley would come up in the seventh inning with the Phillies bullpen having imploded giving the Dodgers a 9-2 lead on a HBP, two walks, and a single with the bases loaded.
Phillies: Velasquez appeared to be favoring his left side in his final inning. Velasquez had a stint on the DL from June 10-27 for a right biceps injury.
Advertisement
The Philadelphia Phillies remain very high on top pitching prospect Jake Thompson.
