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)

__________________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...

PhoulBallz Interview: First round pick Bryson Stott

Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign. En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good. You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day. I would say that's the biggest difference. But I...

Patreon Exclusive: Logan O'Hoppe answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early. When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more. Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one. That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog