Asdrubal Cabrera will play shortstop and bat leadoff for the Indians tonight against the Twins.
Asdrubal Cabrera is back in the lineup for the Indians.Updated: 6:37 p.m.
Minneapolis, Minn. -- This is a daily briefing of the Indians 2010 regular season. The Indians play the Twins tonight in the second game of a three-game series at Target Field.
Target Field's dimensions: Left field 339, left field power alley 377, CF 407, right field power alley, 386, righ field line 328.
Pre-game notes:
Game 94: Asdrubal Cabrera arrived early.
Scheduled to be activated Friday at Progressive Field, Cabrera joined the Indians before Tuesday night's game at Target Field. He'll start at shortstop and bat leadoff. It will be Cabrera's first big-league game since May 17, when he broke his left forearm in a collsion with teammate Jhonny Peralta at Tropicana Field.
Manager Manny Acta said Cabrera's schedule was moved up because outfielders Austin Kearns (knee) and Michael Brantley (shoulder) couldn't play tonight. Shelley Duncan replaced Kearns in right, while Jayson Nix moved from second base to left field. Trevor Crowe moved from left to center to replace Brantley.
"If we didn't have two guys banged up, he'd still be down there," said Acta.
The Indians dropped Jensen Lewis to make room for Cabrera. In a procedural move, they had to designate Lewis for assignment. They are expected to option him to Class AAA Columbus on Wednesday.
Cabrera hit .350 (7-for-20) with four runs, three doubles, one homer and three RBI on a rehab assignment at Class A Mahoning Valley and Class AA Akron. He had two hits, including a homer, for Akron on Monday night.
"I feel pretty good right now," said Cabrera. "I hit the ball really good down there during my rehab assignment."
Look for the Indians to play Cabrera every day. Acta said he wouldn't bring him up if he had to finish his rehab in the big leagues.
In the wake of Cabrera's early promotion, Acta said Donald will be his second baseman. His choices were Donald and Nix. With Donald at second, Nix becomes the utility infielder.
"We've seen a lot of progress from Donald," said Acta. "He's going to get the majority of playing time at second base."
Lineups:
Indians (39-54): SS Asdrubal Cabrera, LF Jayson Nix (R), C Carlos Santana (S), DH Travis Hafner (L), 3B Jhonny Peralta, 1B Matt LaPorta (R), RF Shelley Duncan (R), CF Trevor Crowe (S), 2B Jason Donald (R) and RHP Justin Masterson (3-8, 5.31).
Twins (49-44): CF Denard Span (L), 2B Orlando Hudson (S), C Joe Mauer (L), RF Jason Kubel (L), 1B Michael Cuddyer (R), DH Jim Thome (L), LF Delmon Young (R), SS J.J. Hardy (R), 3B Nick Punto (S) and RHP Kevin Slowey (8-5, 4.95).
Umpires: H Doug Eddings, 1B Dana DeMuth, 2B Kerwin Danley, 3B CB Bucknor. DeMuth, crew chief.
Next: RHP Jake Westbrook (6-5, 4.67) vs. LHP Francisco Liriano (7-7, 3.76) at 1:10 p.m. EST Wednesday.