When the Phillies’ Chase Utley was struck by a pitch on Thursday, suffering a broken right hand, Philadelphia’s pennant hopes also took a hit. The star second baseman could be out as long as a month, following surgery Friday to insert a pin in the hand.

What the injury means to the third-place Phillies can’t be underestimated. Entering Friday, Utley was third in the National League batting race at .336, tied for the league lead in hits (134) and extra-base hits (61), ranked second in runs scored (79) and total bases (232), and third in RBIs (82).

There’s also a personal angle to Utley’s injury, as he was pursuing one of the longest-standing single-season records when he went down. Utley, with a major league-leading 41 doubles, was chasing the single-season standard of 67 two-baggers, set by Earl Webb of the Boston Red Sox in 1931.

Utley was on course for nearly 66 doubles when Washington rookie John Lannan plunked him in Philadelphia’s 7-6 loss to the Nationals. The Phillies fell two-and-a-half games off the pace for the wild-card berth, and they trail the NL East-leading Mets by five games. With one of their top run producers sidelined, the Phils have to hope their playoff chances don’t go the way of Utley’s pursuit of the doubles record.