By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Los Angeles, CA - After winning their second series in a row in San Diego over the weekend, the Philadelphia Phillies continue their road trip with a stop in Los Angeles for a three-game set against the Dodgers, where they will oppose Chase Utley for the first time since trading him in August of last year.
Utley, 37, embodied what every Phillies fan loved during his 13 years in red pinstripes. Ranked by Baseball America as the 81st-best prospect entering the 2003 season, Utley made his major league debut on April 4 before a crowd of 59,269 at Veterans Stadium.
In just his second major league game and third at-bat overall on April 24, 2003 against the Colorado Rockies, Utley hit a two-out grand slam for his first big-league hit.
Over 756 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Utley batted .293/.375/.505 with 498 singles, 163 doubles, 21 triples, 127 home runs, 460 runs-batted-in, 303 walks and 467 strikeouts.
In terms of Phillies' franchise history, Utley ranked eighth in games (1,551), ninth in at-bats (5,748), sixth in scored runs (949), ninth in hits (1,623), fifth in doubles (346), sixth in home runs (233), and seventh in runs-batted-in (916).
"It's going to be very special, even to say hi to him, because I never thought we would play on different teams," Ruiz said of Utley to Matt Gelb of Philly.com. "I don't really know what I'm going to feel. It's different to watch someone on TV as opposed to doing it in person. It's definitely going to be a very exciting moment."
This season for the Dodgers, Utley is hitting .250 with seven homers and 32 RBI's. He started the season off hot, hitting .296 towards the end of May. Since the All-Star Break, he's hitting just .190 in 63 at-bats.
In tonight's series opener, rookie right-hander Zach Eflin, who was Dodgers property for a day before being shipped to Philadelphia in the Jimmy Rollins trade, will look to bounce back from two rough starts. The Dodgers send their own rookie, Julio Urias, to the mound.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (52-61) | Los Angeles Dodgers (62-49) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Zach Eflin | LHP | Julio Urias | ||
| (3-4, 4.77 ERA) | (1-2, 4.98 ERA) | ||||
Zach Eflin's last two starts have been ones to forget. In his last 10 innings of work against the Marlins and Giants, the 22-year-old from Orlando, FL has allowed 13 runs on 15 hits while walking seven. In the seven starts prior to those two outings, he posted a 2.08 ERA. The key for Eflin against the Dodgers will be to settle in out of the gates. His ERA this season in the first inning is 5.40 compared to 3.60 in the second and 2.00 in the fourth. The third inning is normally the toughest for Eflin, who has allowed eight earned runs in 9.2 third innings pitches. Settling in will be key to holding a feisty Dodgers lineup at bay.
Julio Urias gets the ball for the Dodgers. The 19-year-old southpaw is the No. 1 ranked prospect for L.A. and has seen mixed results in his first season with the big league club. He posted a 3.56 ERA in six starts in June, but was sent to Triple-A to work on things following a rough outing on the fourth of July. He's 5-1 with a 1.40 ERA in 11 games at Triple-A this season, but has allowed 24 earned runs in just over 43 innings with the Dodgers. His best outing was against the Brewers in mid-June, where he threw five shutout innings, striking out eight in a 3-2 Dodgers win. He allowed six hits and three runs in three innings in a relief appearance last week against the Rockies.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (52-61) | Los Angeles Dodgers (62-49) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | 2B | Chase Utley | L |
| 2 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R | 2 | SS | Corey Seager | R |
| 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | 3B | Justin Turner | R |
| 4 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 4 | RF | Josh Reddick | L |
| 5 | C | Cameron Rupp | R | 5 | 1B | Adrian Gonzalez | L |
| 6 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 6 | C | Yasmany Grandal | S |
| 7 | LF | Tyler Goeddel | R | 7 | CF | Joc Pederson | L |
| 8 | SS | Freddy Gavlis | S | 8 | LF | Rob Segedin | R |
| 9 | P | Zach Eflin | R | 9 | P | Julio Urias | L |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 10:10 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP
What's Next:
- Tuesday, August 9th, 2016: at Los Angeles Dodgers, 7:05 p.m.
- Philaelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Vince Velasquez (8-3, 3.33 ERA) vs. RHP Kenta Maeda (10-7, 3.22 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLB.TV; Radio: 94 WIP
