Series Preview: Phillies at Twins, June 12-14

Inter-league play continues as the Phillies (29-33) travel to Minnesota to take on the Twins (24-35) in a three-game series beginning on Tuesday night.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups as well as plenty more statistics from this series.

Tuesday, 8:05 PM. Kyle Kendrick (2-5, 4.44 ERA) vs. Nick Blackburn (2-4, 7.75 ERA). In 7 road outings this season, Kendrick has posted a 1-1 record with a 3.42 ERA. Over his last 5 starts, Kendrick has tallied a 2.73 ERA. Blackburn allowed 8 earned runs in 1 2/3 innings in his lone career outing against the Phillies. In 4 home starts this season, Blackburn is 1-2 with a 7.92 ERA.

Wednesday, 8:10 PM. Cole Hamels (8-3, 2.93 ERA) vs. P.J. Walters (2-1, 4.42 ERA). Hamels has a 4-0 record with a 2.50 ERA in 5 road starts this season. In his last 3 starts, Hamels has posted a 5.22 ERA. Ryan Doumit is 3-for-9 with 2 doubles in his career against Hamels. The righty Walters is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 3 home starts this year. Opponents are batting .279 against Walters through 6 starts this year.

Thursday, 8:10 PM. Joe Blanton (5-6, 5.40 ERA) vs. Scott Diamond (5-1, 1.61 ERA). Blanton has a 4-4 record with a 4.45 ERA and a complete game in 8 career starts against Minnesota. Blanton has posted a 9.91 ERA in his last 5 starts. Josh Willingham is 2-for-12 (.167 avg) in his career against Blanton. In 7 starts last season, the left-handed Diamond had the exact opposite record (1-5) that he has this year in the same amount of starts. Diamond is 3-0 with a 1.03 ERA in 4 home starts this year.

In 26 home games this season, Josh Willingham is batting .352 with 7 HR and 23 RBI. Willingham is a .255 hitter in 72 career games against the Phillies.

Joe Mauer has a .318/.333/.636 line in 6 career games against the Phillies. Mauer is 1-for-6 in his career with a HR against Jonathan Papelbon.

Ben Revere is batting .404 in 11 home games this season. Revere has been successful in 9 of 10 stolen base attempts this year.

In 10 games on the road this season, Jim Thome has posted a .296 batting average. In 96 games at Target Field, Thome is a .256 hitter with 22 HR and 55 RBI.

Juan Pierre is a career .313 hitter in 39 games against the Twins and has a .300 average in 18 games at Target Field. Pierre is 5-for-10 against righty reliever Anthony Swarzak.

After taking a cleat to his glove hand last Tuesday and missing nearly a week of action, Placido Polanco is expected to return to the lineup for the Phils. Polanco is a .327 hitter in 82 career games against the Twins.

The Phillies announced on Monday that second baseman Chase Utley, who has been sidelined all season with a left knee ailment, will begin an official rehab assignment with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers. Utley had been playing with the Phillies' extended spring training club in recent days.

Phillies team batting average- .266 (5th best in MLB)
Twins team batting average- .252 (17th best in MLB)

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