BALTIMORE - When he penciled in his lineup card Monday afternoon, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg reverted to what had worked for his struggling second baseman exactly a month earlier.
For the series opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Sandberg again dropped Chase Utley, who came into the night with a National League-worst .184 average, from third to sixth in the batting order. Against a lefthanded starting pitcher in Wei-Yin Chen, the 36-year-old Utley served as the Phillies' first designated hitter of the season.
Utley had notched five hits, including four doubles, in 12 at-bats when he was demoted to the sixth spot from May 15 to 19.