Phillies Acquire OF Ben Revere From Twins; Trade Vance Worley, Trevor May

OF Ben Revere. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

UPDATE – According to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, the Phillies have acquired outfielder Ben Revere from the Minnesota Twins.

In the deal, the Phillies will be sending starting pitcher Vance Worley and top pitching prospect Trevor May to the Twins. Revere will now be the Phillies starting centerfielder.

Worley went 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA in 23 starts for the Phillies in a 2012 season that was cut short due to elbow problems. On the other hand, May posted a 10-13 mark with a 4.87 ERA in 28 starts.

Zolecki also tweeted the Phillies are looking to acquire a veteran starting pitcher to fill the hole vacated by Worley.

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According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports, the Phillies are talking to the Minnesota Twins about a possible trade involving outfielder Ben Revere.

Heyman also mentions that the Twins are interested in pitching which is something that the Phillies clearly possess. He mentions Vance Worley as a possibility if a deal happens.

The Phillies are in dire need of a centerfielder and Revere would be a nice fit. In 2012, Revere hit .294 with 32 RBIs and had 40 stolen bases in 124 games for the Twins.

Revere covers a lot of ground in centerfield which is something that the Phillies covet. The 24-year old would provide an instant boost to the top of the lineup and would be a welcome addition.

Smokin’ Joe: Blanton Cruises Through Nine; Phils Win

Phillies 6, Twins 1
WP – Joe Blanton (6-6, 4.93)
LP – Scott Diamond (5-2, 2.13)

MINNEAPOLIS — The Phillies combined pitching and offense for the first time it seems in ages.

Phillies SP Joe Blanton pitches in the 1st inning of his complete game win against the Twins. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

For the first time in over two weeks, the Phillies had a starter pitch past the 8th inning. It was Joe Blanton who went eight innings in the Phillies 5-1 win over the Twins, taking the series as well.

It was the first time a pitcher went as far as Blanton since May 28 when Cole Hamels was the starter.

Blanton cruised, snapping a five-start streak in which he allowed at least five runs. He went the distance, allowing a run on seven hits while striking out seven for his second complete game of the season.

The lone run Blanton gave up was a solo homer to Trevor Plouffe in the 2nd inning which tied the game up, 1-1, after Ty Wigginton’s home run in the top half of the 2nd.

The Phillies took the lead for good in the 3rd inning on Jim Thome’s three-run homer. It was Thome’s third home run of the season, and on the nine-game road trip.

In the last six games, Thome is 11-for-24 with 13 RBIs. Thome’s nine RBIs during the Twins series was the most he’s ever had in a three-game series for his 22-year career [John Clark].

2B: Rollins (12), Ruiz (16). HR: Wigginton (7), Thome (3).

Boxscore.

Runs For Cole: Offense Backs Up Hamels in 9-8 Win

Phillies DH Jim Thome (far right) celebrates with John Mayberry (left) and Carlos Ruiz (middle) after Mayberry’s three-run homer in the 1st inning. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Phillies 9, Twins 8
WP – Cole Hamels (9-3, 3.34)
LP – P.J. Walters (2-2, 5.40)
SV – Jonathan Papelbon (17)

MINNEANAPOLIS — On a night where Cole Hamels was a little off, his offense was not.

The Phillies erupted for a six-run 1st inning, beating up Twins pitching in their 9-8 win over the Twins. It snapped a three-game losing streak as well.

The 1st inning was a circus for Twins pitching. Starter P.J. Walters was yanked after facing only four hitters without getting an out, leaving with stiff shoulder.

The Phillies opened up on Walters with four straight singles, the last being a two-run single by Jim Thome to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. After Walters was pulled, the Phils added four more runs on a Carlos Ruiz RBI single and John Mayberry three-run bomb.

Phillies Bullpen Kills Two Rallies in 11-7 Loss

Twins 11, Phillies 7
WP – Nick Blackburn (3-4, 7.68)
LP – Kyle Kendrick (2-6, 5.08)

MINNEAPOLIS — The worst bullpen in baseball ruined a good offensive showing yet again.

With a pair of come backs within reach for the Phillies, twice the bullpen let it slip away as the Phillies dropped their third straight, losing 11-7 Tuesday in Minneanapolis. The Phillies fell to five games below .500 and 9.5 games out of first.

The Phillies kept getting close but the Twins kept pulling away.

It all started with Kyle Kendrick, who was absolutely awful through four innings. Denard Span led off the game with solo home run, giving the Twins an early 1-0 lead through one.

Kendrick got beat up in the second, allowing a two-run homer to Trevor Plouffe and then a single, walk and a pair of RBI singles to Ben Revere and Joe Mauer to give Minnesota a 5-0 lead.

Series Preview: at Minnesota Twins

PHI: 29-33, 5th in NL East; MIN: 24-35, 5th in AL Central

When: June 12-14
Where: Target Field (Minneapolis, MN)

Probable Pitchers
Tuesday: Kyle Kendrick (2-5, 4.44) vs Nick Blackburn (2-4, 7.75)
Wednesday: Cole Hamels (8-3, 2.93) vs P.J. Walters (2-1, 4.42)
Thursday: Joe Blanton (5-6, 5.40) vs Scott Diamond (5-1, 1.61)

Broadcast Info
Tuesday, 8:10, CSN
Wednesday, 8:10, CSN
Thursday, 8:10, PHL 17
All Games on 94.1 FM

Season Preview: AL Central

Expectations: Prince Fielder hopes to live up to his father’s legacy in the Motor City, and the Tigers hope to snap a near 30-year title drought.
Key Addition: 1B/DH Prince Fielder (signed from Milwaukee)
Key Loss: DH Magglie Ordonez (free agent)
Projected Record: 97-65
Summary: Expecations are very high in Detroit as the Tigers are coming off a 95 win season and have signed one of the biggest free agents in Prince Fielder. Fielder allows Miguel Cabrera to move back to third base which is his natural position. The combination of Cabrera and Fielder in the lineup should allow the Tigers to score a tone of runs and take control of the AL Central.

The Tigers also have a very strong pitching staff. Justin Verlander is the reigning AL Cy Young and MVP and was a dominating 24-5 in 2011. Combine that with Max Scherzer and Doug Fister, who can win 15 games this year, and this is one of the stronger rotations in the American League.

Spring Training: Twins 11, Phillies 7

Carlos Ruiz has been hitting the cover all spring, a small positive note in an otherwise dreary spring for the Phillies.

Ruiz went 2-for-3 on the day, pumping his average up to .472 in Grapefruit League play this season. But the Phillies dropped their game, 11-7, the Twins on Wednesday.

Vance Worley got the start and was roughed up. He allowed 11 runs, five of them earned, on 11 hits through four innings. He gave up a two-run homer to Justin Morneau in the 1st and a three-run homer to Luke Hughes in a seven-run 4th that ended his day.

Another thing to consider was the outings by Raul Valdes and David Herndon, who each pitched two scoreless innings of relief. They combined to allow three hits and strike out four.

It should be interesting to see if those two make the Opening Day roster. Jose Contreras doesn’t appear to be ready and candidates Scott Elarton and Jake Diekman were sent down yesterday.

Cuddyer in town to meet with Phils

(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

According to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, free agent Michael Cuddyer was in Philadelphia today to meet with Phillies officials

Cuddyer has left town so no deal is imminent. As Zolecki says, it just means that the Phillies are interested.

Cuddyer would fill a wide range of needs. He plays both corner infield and outfield positions. He could potentially split time with Jim Thome and John Mayberry Jr. while Ryan Howard is out with a torn Achilles.

Thome becomes 8th player to hit 600 home runs

(Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)

It only seems like yesterday that Jim Thome hit his 400th home run in Philadelphia back on June 14, 2004.

“Could it be, could it be? It is outta here! Number 400 for Jim Thome!”

That call by Harry Kalas still rings in our ears. It makes me emotional to hear it.

Over seven seasons later, Thome, who may still be a shell of his former home run hitting machine-like self, battled the test of time to reach a milestone only seven other players have reached.

Thome’s 600th home run landed in the bull pen in left field, an inning after #599, in Minnesota’s win over the Tigers last night. The ball was served up by Tigers reliever Daniel Schlereth.

“It’s an unbelievable night, obviously,” Thome said. “I think it’s something you never dream of doing. You dream about it, but when it finally happens, it’s kind of surreal. It’s a neat thing, it really is. Hitting home runs can be very difficult.

“You sit in bed at night and you think how’s it going to be. How are you going to do this? It goes back, it goes back to trying to slow yourself down and not being too antsy, too hyped up, and it’s just a great night. To share it with my teammates there at home plate, my family, obviously, I love you. It’s a very, very special night.”

Only seven other men in the history of baseball reached that plateau (we all know what the asterisk denotes): Barry Bonds* (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714 home runs), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), Alex Rodriguez* (626), Sammy Sosa* (609) and now Thome.

Stark: Phils asked about Thome

The Phillies may not be done at the deadline after all.

The feeling of acquiring Hunter Pence is like having the greatest sex in the world. But now, someone is asking for seconds. Jayson Stark, our Phillie-lovin’ reporter over at ESPN, just tweeted sweet nothings into our ears.

It would be nice to see Jim Thome hit his 600th home run in the same place he ripped number 400. He’s hitting .231 with seven homers and 21 RBIs on the season.

Phils are either going to hold fort, go for an arm in the bull pen or a power bat off the bench. They have little over a day to work with.