Miguel Sano suspended one game for role in Saturday's bench-clearing incident

Twins third baseman Miguel Sano has been suspended for one game by Major League Baseball for his part in a benches-clearing incident on Saturday against Detroit.

However, Sano is in the lineup tonight, batting third. The Twins are going to appeal the decision, manager Paul Molitor said, and they believe they have a good chance at getting the punishment reduced to a fine.

Sano said he shoved catcher James McCann after McCann put his glove in Sano's face. The umpires viewed that shove as more of a punch. But McCann's actions appeared to escalate the situation, which the Twins will likely point out in their appeal.

It is not known how soon the appeal can be heard. I'm checking with the league office on that one.

Here's the official release from the league:

Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sanó has received a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for his aggressive actions in the bottom of the fifth inning of Saturday's game against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field, which caused benches to clear. Joe Torre, Chief Baseball Officer for Major League Baseball, made the announcement.
In addition, Tigers pitcher Matthew Boyd has received an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing a pitch at Sanó.
Sanó's suspension had been scheduled to be served tonight, when the Twins are to visit the Texas Rangers. However, he has elected to appeal. Thus, the discipline issued to Sanó will be held in abeyance until the process is complete.

As for tonight...

That makes it pretty good timing for Nick Tepesch to be with the club. Tepesch has officially been called up from Class AAA Rochester and will be in uniform tonight. Tepesch was drafted by and debuted with the Rangers, so this is a little bit of a homecoming for him. And he was born in Kansas City and attended Blue Spring High School. So friends and family should be in play all week long.

Tepesch will likely be the long man out of the bullpen as the Twins try to get back with a four-man rotation until May 6. There are two offdays between now and then that makes a five-man rotation superfluous.

Buddy Boshers was optioned back to Rochester after spending a day with the Twins. Ryan O'Rourke was moved to the 60-day DL to make room for Tepesch on the 40-man roster.

It's also the homecoming for GM Thad Levine, who spent 11 seasons as the Rangers assistant GM. Levine is scheduled to meet with the media here before the game.

This series features a dream matchup for exit velocity enthusiasts. The Twins have Sano. The Rangers have Joey Gallo. Both have terrific power and could launch balls out to Jerryworld.

Twins

Brian Dozier, 2B
Joe Mauer, 1B
Miguel Sano, 3B
Robbie Grossman, RF
Jorge Polanco, SS
Kennys Vargas, DH
Chris Gimenez, C
Eddie Rosario, LF
Byron Buxton, CF

Phil Hughes, RHP

Texas

Carlos Gomez, CF
Shin-Soo Choo, DH
Nomar Mazara, RF
Mike Napoli, 1B
Rougned Odor, 2B
Elvis Andrus, SS
Joey Gallo, 3B
Jonathan Lucroy, C
Jurickson Profar, LF