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

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog