Series Preview: Tigers at Twins Part 1

Detroit Tigers (51-46) at Minnesota Twins (46-51)

Probable Pitchers:
Thursday July 21, 8:10p:
RHP Justin Verlander (12-5, 2.29, 153 K, 33 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Joe Mauer (16 for 45, 3 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Delmon Young (6 for 27, 9 K)

at

RHP Carl Pavano (6-6, 4.08, 56 K, 25 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Magglio Ordonez (9 for 21, 3 2B, 5 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Carlos Guillen (0 for 17, 5 K)

Friday July 22, 8:10p:
RHP Max Scherzer (10-5, 4.53, 102 K, 38 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Jim Thome (4 for 8, 1 HR, 4 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Alexi Casilla (0 for 6, 1 K)

at

LHP Brian Duensing (7-7, 4.14, 72 K, 36 BB)
Hitter to Fear: Jhonny Peralta (6 for 14, 2 2B, 3 RBI)
Hitter to Fail: Magglio Ordonez (2 for 11, 1 K)

What to Watch For:
1. Guillen back to where he left off - Tigers second baseman Carlos Guillen has got a hit in every game since coming off disabled list on July 16th. In the Oakland series, Guillen went 4 for 7 with a homerun and 2 RBIs. Unfortunately, he is hitless against Carl Pavano(0 for 17) and Brian Duensing(0 for 4).

2. Betemit comes to the Tigers with a better bat - New Tigers third baseman Wilson Betemit carries a .281 batting average into Minnesota. He is expected to start in the series opener Thursday night. He is 3 for 9 against Pavano and 6 for 19 against Duensing. In his last game for the Royals, Betemit played against the Twins in Minnesota going 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts. Brian Duensing started that game for the Twins.

3. Mauer slowly making his comeback - After a disappointing first half, Mauer has hit July hard. Literally, he is hitting .396 with 18 RBIs in the month of July. His average for the season is now at .297.

On Deck:
Tigers continue their series against the Twins on Saturday and Sunday and then it's off to Chicago for a 3-game series against the White Sox.

Series Preview Part 2 will publish Saturday morning.