Series Preview: Royals at Phillies, April 5-7

The Phillies will kick off their 2013 home schedule with interleague play for the very first time this week as the visiting Kansas City Royals come to town for a three game series.

Right-hander Kyle Kendrick will take the mound for the Phillies in the opener. The 28-year-old opens the regular season with a spot in the team's starting rotation for the first time since 2010.

The Royals, who last visited Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park in 2004, will counter with Wade Davis, who makes his team debut after being acquired from Tampa Bay in a trade over the off-season that saw a total of seven players swap uniforms.

Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and more from this series.

Friday, 4:05 PM. Wade Davis (3-0, 2.43 ERA in 2012) vs. Kyle Kendrick (11-12, 3.90 ERA). David, the Ray's 3rd round draft pick in 2004, sported a 2.81 ERA in 25 road outings last season. Michael Young is 3-for-8 (.375 avg) in his career against Davis. Kendrick has never faced Kansas City before. In 83 career games at Citizens Bank Park, Kendrick has a 27-25 record along with a 4.37 ERA. Jeff Francoeur is 9-for-22 (.409 avg) with a homer in his career against Kendrick.

Saturday, 7:05 PM. Luis Mendoza (8-10, 4.32 in 2012) vs. John Lannan (4-1, 4.13 ERA in 2012). Mendoza has thrown a single scoreless inning against the Phils in his career. The right-handed Mendoza posted a 3.95 ERA in 15 road games last year. Ben Revere is 4-for-13 with a triple in his career against the 29-year-old Mendoza. In eight career starts at Citizens Bank Park, the lefty Lannan has tallied a 2-5 record with a 6.49 ERA and a .329 batting average against. Jeff Francoeur is 13-for-25 (.520 avg) with four doubles and a home run in his career against Lannan.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. James Shields (0-1, 1.50 ERA this season) vs. Cole Hamels (0-1, 9.00 ERA). In two career regular season starts against the Phillies, Shields is 1-0 with a 6.55 ERA. Michael Young is 5-for-29 (.172 avg) with a double and two homers in his career against the righty Shields. In 103 career regular season starts at Citizens Bank Park, Hamels has a 48-32 record with a 3.20 ERA. Miguel Tejada is 9-for-15 (.600 avg) with three doubles in his career against Hamels.

Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer is off to a slow start, going just 1-for-9 (.111 avg) in the early going this season. Hosmer batted .385 with two homers and 14 RBI in 17 spring training contests, however.

Outfielder Alex Gordon is 1-for-9 (.111 avg) in his career against the Phillies. After the All-Star break last year, Gordon posted a .316/.371/.500 line. Godron mashed a team leading eight home runs during spring training.

In 32 games against Kansas City, Ben Revere has a .283 batting average with a double, three triples and nine stolen bases. Revere batted .298 in 16 contests against the Royals last year.

In 16 career games against the Royals, Jonathan Papelbon has a 0-1 record with 10 saves, a 1.59 ERA and a .155 batting average against. Papelbon has a 2.44 ERA in 43 career games at Citizens Bank Park.

Michael Young has a .307 average with 11 homers and 45 RBI in 101 career games against KC. Young is 7-for-23 (.304 avg) with a home run in six career games at Citizens Bank Park.

George Brett and Mike Schmidt, who competed for these two teams against one another in the 1980 World Series, are slated to throw out ceremonial first pitches prior to Friday's home opener for the Phils.

Kansas City team OPS in 2012- .716 (tied for 15th in the majors)
Phillies team OPS in 2012- .716 (tied for 1th in the majors)

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