ARLINGTON, Texas -- Michael Pineda, on the 10-day injured list because of strained triceps, was activated today by the Twins and will start tonight's game against the Rangers.
The Twins open a four-game series while leading the American League Central by a half-game over the Cleveland Indians.
Pineda is 7-5 with a 4.15 ERA and two stints on the injured list as the pitches his first season after Tommy John surgery. He is 1-4 with a 5.05 ERA against the Rangers in his career.
The Twins sent Randy Dobnak back to Class AAA Rochester. Dobnak pitched four scoreless innings in his first stint in the big leagues Friday in a loss to Cleveland.
Willians Astudillo (oblique) is starting a rehab assignment with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Class AA) today. He's batting second and catching for the Blue Wahoos against Chattanooga in a lineup that has Alex Kirilloff leading off, Royce Lewis batting third and Trevor Larnach hitting cleanup.
The series preview is here.
A look at the fielding struggles of Jorge Polanco leads the Twins notebook.
The Twins lineup tonight:
Max Kepler, CF
Miguel Sano, DH
Jorge Polanco, SS
Eddie Rosario, LF
C.J. Cron, 1B
Luis Arraez, 2B
Marwin Gonzalez, 3B
Jason Castro, C
Jake Cave, RF
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La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts.
Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.
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