Philllies Notebook: Utley sits out, waiting for MRI results

Chase Utley, shown here with wife, Jen, might be the latest Phillie headed to the DL.
Paige Ozaroski/Metro

Chase Utley is the latest Phillie bitten by the injury bug.

The second baseman was scratched from Tuesday night’s lineup after experiencing pain in his right rib cage during batting practice. He’ll undergo an MRI Thursday in Philadelphia.

Utley spoke briefly with reporters Wednesday and admitted to feeling “scared.” Some are speculating he could be headed to the DL.

“It definitely scared me a little bit,” Utley told reporters. “My first swing, I felt something. My second swing, I felt it again. My third swing, I felt it again. After the fourth swing, I realized something wasn’t right.”

Freddy Galvis has been filling in at second base as the team awaits Utley’s test results. Utley, who has been known to hide injuries in the past, was open and honest about it with skipper Charlie Manuel. Both player and coach are preaching patience.

“You want to be careful with these things because they could linger and get worse if you try to play through it,” Utley said. “I think we caught it early enough, but it’s hard to know until we have some imaging on it.”