Phillies' Utley leads all-star balloting

Chase Utley

is one popular man these days.

Major League Baseball released its first voting results for the July 15 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, and Utley leads all National League players with 537,788 votes, more than 100,000 votes better than Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones.

"That's sick," teammate Ryan Howard said. "First off, you have to be doing something good. Second of all, it means people have taken notice of what he's been doing. It's not just something that has happened for one year. It's something that has been going on for the four years he's been in the big leagues. It's good to see."

Utley is crushing his competition at second base. Falling behind him are Houston's Kaz Matsui (182,827), Chicago's Mark DeRosa (178,595), Florida's Dan Uggla (125,745), and New York's Luis Castillo (123,356).

Howard is fifth among first basemen with 140,683 votes, behind Houston's Lance Berkman (329,473), St. Louis' Albert Pujols (317,317), Chicago's Derrek Lee (283,515), and Milwaukee's Prince Fielder (151,894).

Jimmy Rollins ranks fifth among shortstops with 156,620 votes. Florida's Hanley Ramirez (268,386), Houston's Miguel Tejada (256,613), New York's Jose Reyes (237,800) and Chicago's Ryan Theriot (178,871) are ahead of him.

Pat Burrell ranks sixth among outfielders with 220,596 votes. He is behind Chicago's Alfonso Soriano (352,267), Chicago's Kosuke Fukudome (325,456), Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. (300,230), New York's Carlos Beltran (253,297), and Colorado's Matt Holliday (249,881).

The all-star teams will be named July 6 on TBS. Fans can vote at mlb.com or at the ballpark.

Utley isn't just a famous and talented baseball player. He apparently is one of the "25 Fittest Guys in America," according to the June/July issue of Men's Fitness. He joins a list that includes presidential candidate

Barack Obama

, golfer

Tiger Woods

, actor

Will

Smith

, rapper

Flo Rida

, UFC fighter

Mac Danzig

, and Orlando Magic star

Dwight Howard

.

"It's an honor," Utley said.

"Cool," Burrell said.

"You'd have to ask all the ladies out there," Howard said. "I think they would agree with that. But in all seriousness, I was out in California and got to see the workout that Chase did. It's a real rigorous workout. It's really tough. For him to go out there and do what he does, he puts a lot of hard work into it. He's deserving of it."

Men's Fitness asked Utley what his diet is like. Pay attention, kids.

"I like chicken and some fruits and vegetables," Utley said. "Over the past five years, I've adjusted my diet here and there. I stay away from soda. The only liquid I put in my body is water. I think nutrition is extremely important. The healthier you eat, the better your body will respond to athletic competition."

No sportswriters made the top 25. Maybe next year.

Then again, maybe not.

Burrell woke up Tuesday with stiffness on the left side of his neck and couldn't play as a result, but he was back in the lineup last night, going 1 for 3 with a double. He said his neck felt much better.

"I had a hard time turning my head to the left," Burrell said. "It's a pretty important way" to look for a righthanded hitter.

The Phillies ranked fifth in the National League in attendance (1,019,966) and average attendance (39,229) before last night. Citizens Bank Park has had 10 sellouts this season, with 18 of 26 crowds of 35,000 or more.

The Phillies have won 15 or more games every month for the last seven months, dating from last season. It's the first time that has happened since July 1963 to August 1964.

The '64 Phillies went 12-19 that September to lose the National League pennant, blowing a 61/2-game lead with 12 games to play.

The Phillies won for the 30th time in their 54th game of the season Tuesday, the fastest they have reached 30 wins since they did so in their 47th game in 2001.

Manager

Charlie Manuel

said outfielder

Jayson Werth

, who is on the disabled list with a strained right abdominal muscle, is expected to be back June 7 in Atlanta. Manuel said Werth could begin hitting off the practice tee in a couple of days.

Jerry Martin

, who replaced

Davey Lopes

as the team's first base coach while Lopes recovered from prostate-cancer surgery, will return to the minor leagues as the organization's outfield coordinator.

Utley is hitting .375 (6 for 16) with three homers and 13 RBIs in his last four games. . . . The Phillies have a season-high four-game winning streak and are a season-best seven games over .500 (31-24). . . . This was the Phillies' first three-game sweep of the Rockies since April 22-24, 2003, at Veterans Stadium. . . . The Phillies swept the season series against Colorado, 5-0. It's their first-ever season sweep of the Rockies. It's their first season sweep against a team since they swept the San Diego Padres in six games in 2005. Shane Victorino extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He is batting .442 (19 for 43) during the streak. . . . The Phillies have stolen 14 consecutive bases dating from May 16. The Phils lead the majors with an 86.4 stolen-base percentage (38 stolen bases, six caught stealing).