Phillies Notes: Utley gets a rest; Frandsen goes deep

Even though the Phillies were off on Monday and have another day off on Thursday, manager Charlie Manuel decided not to start second baseman Chase Utley against the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park.

Utley's replacement, Kevin Frandsen, hit a solo home run in the first inning.

Because of his chronically injured knees, Utley played in a total of 186 games over the previous two seasons.

This year he had appeared in each of the Phils' first 39 games, making 37 starts.

Manuel said he simply doesn't want to wear down the 34-year-old Utley.

"We want to kind of monitor and keep him off his feet at times," Manuel said before Tuesday's game.

"I think if he plays 140 to 142 games with the off days we have, that would be very passable," Manuel added.

Utley entered the game leading the Phillies in hits (41), home runs (7), RBIs (24), runs (21), triples (2), and total bases (73).

The last time Utley surpassed 140 games was in 2009, when he appeared in 156 games.

Phils third baseman Michael Young isn't satisfied with the team's start, but he's encouraged because he sees growth.

Coming off a 4-3 road trip against San Francisco and Arizona, Young saw positives.

"I think we did OK on the road trip," Young said. "There is still a ton of improvement we can make."

The Phils entered the game 18-21 but 41/2 games out of first in the NL East.

"We feel we haven't come close to playing our best baseball yet, and I take that as a positive," said Young, who took a .310 average into the game. "We are still in the thick of it and feel our best days are ahead of us."

Manuel was asked whether he would consider playing Freddy Galvis in center field.

"I have kind of thought about it," he said.

All season, Manuel has said how important it was to get Galvis regular at-bats. Galvis, who wasn't in Tuesday's starting lineup, had 50 at-bats entering the game. He had four starts in left field, two at shortstop, three at third base, and two at second.

So what would it take to put Galvis in center?

"For me to put him out there and let him play," Manuel said.

Manuel would not reveal the status of Phillies reliever Mike Adams, who suffered back spasms during batting practice before Sunday's 4-2 win at Arizona.

"I have a medical report," Manuel said.

And?

"I am not saying whether he is available or not."

Adams, who usually pitches the eighth, wasn't used on Tuesday as the Phillies went with three relievers that inning to hold the Indians off the board.