Chase Utley plays down past while helping Dodgers rout the Phillies, 9-4

Chase Utley guards his emotions with fortifications fit for Fort Knox, refusing to bend to slights, provocations or hypotheticals. His face operates without expression, only straying from stone for the occasional smirk. When speaking with the media, he chooses his words with care, editing his commentary so salience overwhelms salaciousness.

Which explained the scene on Monday afternoon, before his current team, the Dodgers, battered his former Phillies teammates in a 9-4 series opener. A small crowd of reporters, mostly members of Philadelphia’s press and broadcast crew, gathered around him inside the Dodgers dugout. He acknowledged the scene that awaits him at Citizens Bank Park next Tuesday, when the Dodgers come to Philadelphia for the first time since the Phillies sent him west.

“It might be a bit emotional,” Utley said.

But Monday night? Facing a cast of unfamiliar faces sporting the uniform that once felt so familiar? Utley lacked interest in discussing his place in Phillies history, or the breakup of the core that led the franchise to five division titles from 2007 to 2011.

“To be honest, I really don’t think about it like that,” Utley said. “I’m trying to focus on me personally and what I need to do on a daily basis to help the Dodgers win.”

Utley became the final piece of the teardown when Philadelphia traded him to the Dodgers last August. He re-signed as a free agent in the winter. He emerged as the team’s leadoff hitter from Opening Day forward, providing an offensive spark during the first few months and offering his guidance to his less experienced teammates along the way.

The Phillies traded Utley to continue a youth movement. He joined a team in Los Angeles already experiencing one. On a night when Utley hit a home run, he witnessed an offense powered by 20-somethings. Seager, 22, blasted two home runs. Joc Pederson, 24, doubled twice and drove in three runs. Yasmani Grandal, 27, homered, doubled and scored three runs. Julio Urias, 19, overcame a harrowing third inning to complete five frames.

The Dodgers exposed the gap between the two teams in the first inning. Philadelphia trotted out rookie Zach Eflin, a 22-year-old with 10 career appearances, as its starter. He absorbed a hellacious beating. He did not last beyond the third inning.

Seager opened a five-run first inning by mashing a 1-and-0 fastball at the waist. His 20th home run of the season cleared the fence in right. He beamed as he rounded the bases and slapped hands with third-base coach Chris Woodward.

“Every time he comes to bat, something special can happen,” Manager Dave Roberts said.

The onslaught was just beginning. Justin Turner thumped a double off the left-field wall. Josh Reddick walked. Adrian Gonzalez slipped a single through the right side of the infield, and Woodward sent Turner home.

After a walk by Yasmani Grandal, the bases were loaded for Joc Pederson. He fell behind, 1 and 2, but maintained the patience to pass on a slider that bisected the plate before landing in the dirt. Two pitches later, Pederson hammered a two-run double on an elevated fastball.

The rally ended when rookie Rob Segedin, the previous day’s hero, floated a sacrifice fly.

The only position player who neither reached base nor made a productive out during the inning was Utley. To open the second inning, he let the count run full. Out of options, Eflin flung a fastball. Utley delivered his eighth home run of the season.

“It’s nice to score runs early,” Seager said. “And it was nice to keep scoring runs.”

Urias lived a nightmare in the third, partly of his own making. Eflin led off with a double that slipped beneath Turner’s glove at third base. After a one-out walk, Seager fielded a groundball and tried for a forceout at second base. The throw did not beat the runner, and the bases were loaded.

Urias could have defused the threat in the next at-bat. He fielded a chopper off the bat of first baseman Tommy Joseph, but he fired a wild throw past Grandal. Two runs scored on the error. A third came home on a groundball single by catcher Cameron Rupp.

Grandal recouped a run by unleashing a homer to right field in the third. Four innings later, Seager hit a solo shot to right. Utley watched both blasts from the dugout.

“It was cool,” Utley said. “But obviously, you’re still trying to go out there and compete and win.”

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes