Utley Set To Make Season Debut For Phillies
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Phillies second baseman Chase Utley will be activated off the 15-day disabled list before Monday's game against Cincinnati.
The five-time All-Star returned to the team Sunday. Utley hasn't played this season because of tendinitis in his right knee.
He played in his fourth straight rehab game Saturday night at Single-A Clearwater. He hit .281 with one homer in nine games.
Utley declined comment before Sunday's game against Texas. Utley met with head trainer Scott Sheridan and team doctor Michael Ciccotti.
Utley has said after rehab games that he was feeling great.
The Phillies will also place right-hander Joe Blanton on the disabled list and will recall righty Vance Worley. The Phillies optioned infielder Pete Orr to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Blanton is 1-2 with a 5.50 ERA in six starts this season. The 30-year-old was a late scratch in his last scheduled start, May 19 against the Colorado Rockies, with soreness in his throwing elbow.
Worley went 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in four games with the Phillies in 2011.
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