Chase Utley Returns to Philadelphia Tonight as a Dodger

The former Phillies’ second baseman has his first game back at Citizens Bank Park since being traded last year.

It seems like it was just yesterday when you could walk out your door, go to breakfast at Morning Glory and run into Chase Utley.

But those days are long gone. The Phillies, while improving, are not the team they were 10 years ago or even five years ago. And Chase Utley was traded to the Dodgers about a year ago. He even put his Gladwyne home, where Allen Iverson also once lived, on the market.

Tonight, though, Utley returns to Philadelphia as the Dodgers play the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park for the first time since the trade. “It’s going to be good to see them, shake some hands, say hi, but once the game starts, it’s all business,” Utley said before the Phillies played the Dodgers in Los Angeles last week. Utley homered against the Phillies in his first game.

“It’s going to be a special time,” Utley told CSN last week. “I didn’t really have an opportunity to really say goodbye to the fans last year because it happened so fast. So I’m excited to get back there and play in front of some great fans.”

Utley went 3-for-13 in the series against the Phillies, with 2 runs scored (and that one home run). The Dodgers are 65-52, a half-game back in the NL West. The Phillies are 56-63, 6.5 games back of the second Wild Card spot.

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