By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
The Phillies (14-5) have been playing very well during spring action, winning seven of their last nine games and defeating the Tigers yesterday on the road, 4-3. Today, the Phils host the Minnesota Twins (9-9) split squad and starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff is slated to make his spring debut against Phil Hughes.
Philadelphia received some concerning news yesterday on Odubel Herrera. Herrera had told reporters that he planned to return this week, but following yesterday's win, Pete Mackanin expressed concern about Herrera's injury, which will be reevaluated. If Herrera's injury proves to be more serious, the Phillies outfield depth with get even thinner. Currently, the team has been working with an outfield that includes Peter Bourjos, Tyler Goeddel, Cedric Hunter and David Lough. Both Aaron Altherr and Cody Asche will miss time due to injury, with Altherr set to miss 4-6 months.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Minnesota Twins (9-9) | Philadelphia Phillies (14-5) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Phil Hughes | RHP | Jerad Eickhoff | ||
| (0-0, 0.00 ERA) | (2015: 3-3, 2.65 ERA) | ||||
Jerad Eickhoff will make his first Grapefruit League start this afternoon after missing time with a thumb injury. On Thursday, Eickhoff appeared in a minor league game and allowed a run on three hits in four innings. Eickhoff is likely going to start the season as the Phillies third starter, barring a setback, after an impressive stint with the big league club last season that saw him post a sub three ERA in eight starts.
Phil Hughes has pitched in two games thus far for Minnesota this spring, allowing just two hits over five innings of work. He's thrown a total of just 16 pitches, all of which have been strikes. Last season, he posted a record of 11-9 to go along with an ERA of 4.40 in 27 games, 25 of which were starts.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (13-5) | Minnesota Twins (9-9) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | LF | David Lough | L | 1 | CF | Byron Buxton | R |
| 2 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 2 | SS | Danny Santana | S |
| 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | RF | Miguel Sano | R |
| 4 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L | 4 | 1B | Byung Ho Park | R |
| 5 | SS | Andres Blanco | S | 5 | LF | Eddie Rosario | L |
| 6 | C | J.P. Arencibia | R | 6 | 3B | Eduardo Nunez | R |
| 7 | RF | Peter Bourjos | R | 7 | DH | Daniel Palka | L |
| 8 | CF | Darnell Sweeney | S | 8 | C | John Hicks | R |
| 9 | P | Jerad Eickhoff | R | 9 | 2B | James Beresford | L |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
- TV: The Comcast Network
- Radio: N/A
What's Next:
- Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016: at Houston Astros , 6:05 p.m.
- Kissimmee, FL – Osceola County Stadium
- RHP Charlie Morton (1-0, 8.53 ERA) vs. RHP Doug Fister (1-1, 6.94 ERA)
- TV: N/A; Radio: 94 WIP
