Torii's No DH

Torii Hunter was supposed to just DH today, but Ron Gardenhire changed his mind. Robinson Tejeda is starting for the Rangers, and left-handers bat .299 against him, while right-handers manage only .198. So Gardenhire decided to use Jason Tyner rather than Lew Ford, who would have taken Hunter’s place in the outfield.

That means Hunter forfeits his DH day, but he didn’t mind. “I told Gardy if he needed me, I’d just as soon play the field,” Hunter said after his 45-minute commute to Arlington from his home in the northern Dallas suburbs. He said he's feeling no ill effects from running into the wall last night.

Sammy Sosa is taking the day off today. The lineups:

TWINS
Castillo 2b
Tyner cf
Cuddyer rf
Morneau dh
Hunter cf
Kubel lf
Rodriguez 3b
Heintz c
Punto ss

Bonser p

RANGERS
Lofton cf
Young ss
Teixeira dh
Diaz rf
Cruz lf
Kinsler 2b
Vazquez 3b
Kata 1b
Stewart c
Tejeda p