TAMPA, Fla. -- The Twins and Rays meet in the first of a four-game series at the Trop tonight (6:10 p.m., FSN).
Martin Perez (7-1, 2.95) for the Twins and Charlie Morton (5-0, 2.54) for the Rays.
It's a return to Tampa for Twins' first year manager Rocco Baldelli.
DH Nelson Cruz (left wrist) hit in the cage today and will hit on the field tomorrow as he tries to get off the injured list. Cruz says he feels a lot better, so he might be getting close to a return.
The Twins lineup will start without Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano. Polanco is under the weather, enough for the Twins to keep him out of the starting lineup. But they say Polanco is available off the bench if they need him. They hope he'll return to the lineup tomorrow. So the second leading hitter in the AL is not in the lineup for the start of a big series between the two surprising teams of the league.
Sano also is available off the bench tonight. He apparently is feeling fine, so Baldelli has decided to give him a break.
A few fans from Fort Myers are expected to make the trip up I-75 to watch the Twins. That includes third base coach Tommy Watkins' family. His father is driving up for the game, then driving back home afterward because he has to get up early to go to work for Florida Power and Light.
I had flashback moments today while talking to a member of the coaching staff. The Twins are going to bring a machine onto the field during pregame and fire balls up in the air so the fielders can practice tracking them against the roof of this goofy stadium. The ball is easier to track during the day here than night. At night, the outside darkness makes the roof the same color as a well-worn baseball.
