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(Sports Network) - The American League's worst offensive team at the moment will have to face one of the circuit's top pitching staffs in the early going when the reeling Detroit Tigers begin a two-game set with the Minnesota Twins tonight at Comerica Park.

Detroit enters this evening's showdown at the bottom of the AL rankings in both runs scored (33) and batting average (.235) and was shut out in the final two contests of its three-game series with the Chicago White Sox over the weekend. After mustering just two hits in a 7-0 setback on Saturday, the Tigers were blanked by Javier Vazquez and two Chicago relievers as the Sox cruised to an 11-0 rout yesterday.

Vazquez (2-1) yielded just five hits and struck out nine Tigers through the first seven innings, while Paul Konerko and Joe Crede each belted grand slams to power the Chicago offense.

Kenny Rogers (0-3) served up Konerko's blast and couldn't make it out of the fourth inning for Detroit. The veteran lefty allowed seven runs on seven hits and walked four batters to loss his third consecutive start to begin the year.

The defeat dropped the Tigers to a woeful 2-10 on the season, and the preseason AL Central favorites have yet to win in six games at Comerica Park so far.

Making matters worst, Detroit will likely be without one of its best hitters for this brief series. First baseman Carlos Guillen, who leads the club with a .314 average, sat out the last two matchups with the White Sox with a strained hamstring and is not expected to return to the lineup tonight.

The Tigers' sputtering offense now has to face a Minnesota squad that currently ranks second in the AL with a 3.48 earned run average and posted shutout wins in the first two tests of a weekend set with Kansas City. The Royals did avoid a sweep with Sunday's 5-1 triumph, spoiling the long-awaited return to the mound for the Twins' Francisco Liriano.

Liriano, who finished second to Detroit ace Justin Verlander in voting for the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year after amassing a stellar 12-3 record with a 2.16 ERA that season, missed the entire 2007 campaign after undergoing elbow ligament replacement surgery. The young phenom struggled with command in his first major league appearance since the procedure, lasting just 4 2/3 innings and allowing four runs and five walks to suffer the loss.

The Twins mustered just three hits off Royals starter Brian Bannister on the day, with Jason Kubel driving in the lone Minnesota run with a first-inning sacrifice fly.

Minnesota will try to get back on track tonight behind rookie Nick Blackburn, who has pitched well in each of his first two starts but has yet to garner his first big league victory.

Blackburn limited the Angels to just one run and five hits over seven innings back on April 2, but received no support in a hard-luck 1-0 loss. He was solid against the White Sox in Chicago five days later, permitting two runs and striking out five in a five-inning no decision.

The 26-year-old faced the Tigers in a relief role last September and was dealt a loss after being tagged for six runs (4 earned) and seven hits over just two frames.

Detroit counters with Jeremy Bonderman, who picked up one of his team's two season victories after battling through five innings in Boston this past Wednesday.

Bonderman gave up five hits and walked four while throwing 96 pitches, but held the Red Sox to just two runs, only one of which was earned, in the Tigers' 7-2 win.

The hard-throwing righty will try to improve upon a 3-6 lifetime record in 14 games (13 starts) versus Minnesota, in which Bonderman has compiled a 5.31 ERA, when he takes the mound tonight. He did limit the Twins to only three runs over 13 innings in two 2007 starts against them, including eight shutout frames in a 1-0 victory at Comerica Park last July.

Detroit won 12 of its 18 encounters with Minnesota last season, but the Twins had a 5-4 edge in the games held in the Motor City.