Scoring could suffer as Giants host Twins

A pair of quietly stingy pitchers will take the hill on Wednesday night as the Minnesota Twins visit AT&T Park to take on the San Francisco Giants (10:15PM ET) in Major League Baseball interleague play this week. The game will be the second matchup of a scheduled three-game series between the teams.

The Giants remain a strong contender for postseason glory as they are currently listed at +1500 to win the World Series at Oddsmaker, and at +700 to win the National League Pennant.

Nick Blackburn (6-4, 3.16 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Twins on Wednesday night, and although his season numbers aren�t particularly eye-catching the big righthander has won his past five decisions while posting a microscopic 2.29 ERA in his past nine starts. Last time out Blackburn threw eight shutout innings as the Twins edged the White Sox 1-0.

San Francisco will hand the ball to reliable Ryan Vogelsong (4-1, 1.92 ERA). Vogelsong hurled six solid innings in his most recent start, giving up six hits and two earned runs while striking out six batters in a no-decision last week against the Diamondbacks.

Entering Tuesday�s series opener the UNDER was 6-2 in Minnesota�s last eight interleague road games, and 18-7-1 in San Francisco�s last 26 home games overall. With Blackburn and Vogelsong on the hill, make sure to check the total at Oddsmaker before placing your bets prior to the opening pitch.

Minnesota�s Brian Duensing (4-6, 4.82 ERA) is scheduled to face Giants ace Tim Lincecum (5-6, 3.39 ERA) in the series finale on Thursday afternoon. Duensing defeated the Padres in his most recent start, allowing just two runs in six innings of work, while Lincecum was saddled with a loss last time out despite giving up just two earned runs and striking out seven through six innings versus the Athletics. Thursday�s opening pitch is slated for 3:45 pm ET.

Also this week, the St. Louis Cardinals will host the Philadelphia Phillies in a marquee matchup of recent National League playoff powerhouses. The Phillies are the even-money chalk at Oddsmaker to win the NL Pennant, and second only to the Red Sox (+150) to win the World Series at +200, while the Cardinals are no slouches on the futures board either at +700 to win the pennant and +1200 to win the World Series.

Game 2 of the three-game series goes Wednesday night at Busch Stadium, with sizzling southpaw Cliff Lee (7-5, 3.12 ERA) scheduled to start for Philadelphia against veteran righty Kyle Lohse (7-3, 2.88 ERA) for the Cardinals. St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols, the three-time NL MVP, fractured his forearm while trying to make a tag on Sunday and will be out of the lineup for four to six weeks.

The final contest of the three-game series goes Thursday night with Philadelphia�s Roy Oswalt (4-5, 3.38 ERA) toeing the rubber against fellow righthander Chris Carpenter (1-7, 4.47 ERA) for St. Louis. First pitch is scheduled for 8:15 pm ET.