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Utley plays on for Phillies in loss to Blue Jays

Led Zeppelin blared over the Citizens Bank Park speaker system Tuesday night, and the fans cheered. Eleven days after returning from the disabled list, following days of speculation and reports regarding a potential trade, there was Chase Utley, still in a Phillies uniform, still the team's second baseman.

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (26) hits a single during the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. The Blue Jays won 8-5.
Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (26) hits a single during the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park. The Blue Jays won 8-5.Read more(Bill Streicher/USA Today)

Led Zeppelin blared over the Citizens Bank Park speaker system Tuesday night, and the fans cheered. Eleven days after returning from the disabled list, following days of speculation and reports regarding a potential trade, there was Chase Utley, still in a Phillies uniform, still the team's second baseman.

A trade of Utley before the end of the month is still not out of the question, but as the days wear on it appears less and less probable. Speaking before his team's 8-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. deemed it "very likely" that Utley remains with his longtime club through the season's final seven weeks.

"I've felt that from the time that he became a 10-5 guy," Amaro said, referring to the full no-trade rights Utley earned by spending 10 years in the majors, at least five with the same team. "I don't think that Chase has that desire to leave, frankly, and the Phillies don't have a desire to move him out of here.

"We're going to be open-minded about all of the opportunities that may present themselves over the next couple weeks."

Barring a trade, Utley, who was not available to the media before Tuesday's game, will start at second base in a majority of the season's final 43 games. With Maikel Franco sidelined for potentially the rest of the season with a fractured left wrist, interim manager Pete Mackanin can play both Utley and Cesar Hernandez regularly, with Hernandez manning third base.

Utley singled twice and scored a run in five at-bats, but the Phillies - and in particular their bullpen - couldn't overcome an onslaught from baseball's best offense. The loss was their fourth consecutive and sixth in seven games. The Blue Jays, a game behind the first-place New York Yankees in the American League East, have won 13 of 16 games this month and 21 of 29 since the all-star break.

"Our offense continues to score some runs and that's a positive from tonight. Unfortunately our pitching is not where we want it to be at this point," Mackanin said.

Josh Donaldson, Toronto's all-star third baseman, launched two home runs, including a mammoth first-inning shot off Aaron Nola that traveled an estimated 454 feet into the second deck in left field. Donaldson's three-run homer in the sixth off Jeanmar Gomez highlighted a five-run inning for Toronto in which Edwin Encarnacion added a solo shot.

Nola lasted only five innings for the third time in his six major-league starts but exited in line for the win. The 22-year-old righthander surrendered three runs on four hits. He issued four walks for the first time in 35 professional starts (29 in the minor leagues) and struck out five.

Against such a dangerous lineup, the pitcher may have nitpicked the corners a bit. Nola agreed he was trying to be too fine with his pitches.

"I think I was trying to make too good of pitches and they fell their way," Nola said. "The balls were going in and out of the zone. It was more [on] pitches I need to throw when I'm really ahead in the count. I should've just went straight after them, and they capitalized on it."

Jeff Francoeur smacked a solo home run and Freddy Galvis tallied a run-scoring triple. For Utley, it was his fifth multi-hit game in seven starts since he returned from the disabled list. He has improved his season batting average from .179 to .217 since Aug. 7.

Since Utley came back from his ankle injury, as many as six contending teams reportedly have been interested in acquiring his services through an August trade. (The 13-year veteran cleared trade waivers last Tuesday.) The San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs have been connected most often to the six-time all-star, who is set to become a free agent at season's end.

But Utley, who has long maintained his desire to stay in Philadelphia, has the right to veto any potential deal. Asked if he had trades on the table that could be made if Utley accepted, Amaro responded, "That's something I'd really rather not discuss."

"There are a lot of positives to have Chase Utley still in our uniform," Amaro said. "Happy to have him continue to do what he does out here for the fans and for our team and for the young players who are watching him. He goes about his business exactly how we want our players to go about their business. So I don't think there's anything bad about having him here."