Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has patella tendinitis in his right knee and missed his second straight game Sunday. Utley underwent an MRI on Saturday. "It's been bothering him enough and bothering me enough, frankly, to go ahead and precautionary do that," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said of the MRI. "Rather than really pushing him early, we're going to kind of take it easy on him so there are residual effects throughout the year." His knee becomes painful in explosive baseball movements, such as running and fielding. "It's a little tendinitis in the knee," Utley said. "I've had it in the past. It comes and goes. It's not going [away] as fast as I wish it would, but I think at this point it's better to be safe than sorry. I'd rather miss a few games here than in the season." The Phillies don't have a timetable for Utley's first spring appearance.