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MIAMI -- Chase Utley has not had a season most would associate with a player of his caliber. The five-time All-Star missed time at the beginning of the season as he recovered from knee surgery. He has hit .269 with nine homers and 40 RBI in 83 games this season, but Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is confident his star second baseman will be ready to go when the postseason starts. "He's going to football results be all right," Manuel said. "Utley works hard. When he gets in streaks where, from an offensive standpoint it's not going his way, he'll come out of it eventually." When some players struggle, managers tend to give them some time off to regroup. But Manuel would rather see Utley get more at-bats. "We've been getting some days off," Manuel said. "Getting at-bats is what's important for him. He'll football results end the season, I think, in a good streak. He's getting ready. He doesn't stay down very long. He'll come out of it." Young talent has helped Phils' bullpen succeed MIAMI -- The Phillies entered the season with an impressive group of relievers, but most have been injured or waived since the season started. Brad Lidge has been limited to 14 appearances while Jose Contreras pitched in 17 games. football results J.C. Romero appeared in 24 games before he was released and Danys Baez struggled over 29 games before he was let go. But Antonio Bastardo and Michael Stutes have stepped up to fill key relief roles. Bastardo has become one of the top setup men in the game. The left-hander is 6-0 with a 1.35 ERA over 53 1/3 innings. Stutes has been impressive as well, in middle relief. The right-hander has gone 5- football results 1 with a 3.73 ERA since being called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in late April. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel thinks his emerging young relievers have played a key role in his team's success. But Manuel gives a lot of credit to Philadelphia's strong starting pitching for going deep into games and helping to keep the bullpen fresh. "Sometimes when I think about how good our bullpen has been, football results how good Bastardo and Stutes have been and now [Ryan] Madson's come into his own," Manuel said. "We've never had to put any of them through a strenuous workload for a long period of time, and I think starting pitching has really played into that." Worth noting #149; The Phillies have a winning record against the Marlins (164-135) but they are 74-76 all-time at Sun Life Stadium with two games football results remaining there this season entering Saturday's action. #149; Ryan Madson set a Phillies record for most relief appearances (461), passing Tug McGraw. Madson has made 480 appearances as a pitcher, trailing only Hall of Famers Steve Carlton (499) and Robin Roberts (529) in franchise history. football results
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