Chase jams: Utley hits slam in return to Philly

PHILADELPHIA — The fans had already seen what they came for. They had greeted Chase Utley upon his return to Philadelphia with a standing ovation of nearly 90 seconds. And Utley had returned the favor with a home run and subsequent curtain call in the fifth.

But Chase Utley has never settled for adequate. When he dug in with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, there was a reason jokes fluttered around the air in Citizens Bank Park that, Hey, wouldn’t it be so stereotypically Utley to park a ball here?

Then he did.

The fans, for the fourth time of the evening, went wild. Utley finished rounding the bases and entered the dugout, only to exit seconds later for his second curtain call of the game.

The Dodgers are in the midst of a pennant chase. Tuesday’s 15-5 win tied them with the Giants atop the NL West. Meanwhile, the Phillies are two years into a rebuilding process that has seen every player from the teams that won five consecutive division titles depart but Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz.

Fans roared and rose to their feet before Utley’s name had even been announced for his first at-bat. Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” begun playing from the loudspeakers, and Utley stepped from the on-deck circle into the batter’s box.

From the scheduled first pitch time of 7:05 until it was actually thrown at 7:08, Citizens Bank Park was stuck in time. Some were taking in the spectacle of Utley’s first appearance back in the town in which he spent the first 13 seasons of his career. Others were harkening back to those years, which have been so often referred to as “the good times.”

The fans clapped and screamed. Utley turned and waved. He pointed to the fans …

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