The Twins reinstated second baseman Jorge Polanco from the 10-day injured list on Thursday and put him right back to work.
"We're not going to wait around," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We're going to stick him right in the leadoff spot."
So there he was, atop the lineup with Alex Kirilloff, Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Royce Lewis directly behind him. Polanco last played on May 17 in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. He missed 11 games because of a left hamstring strain. He went 1-for-3 that day, two days after a 3-for-5 game in which he was a triple away from hitting for the cycle.
Polanco played in 23 games this season entering Thursday's game, hitting .284 with seven doubles, two home runs, 14 RBI, 10 runs scored and six walks. He went 1-for-5 with a double Thursday.
Baldelli said he knew Polanco would be back and relatively soon. Polanco didn't require a rehab assignment at Class AAA St. Paul or elsewhere. That's partly because, Baldelli said, Polanco had all he needed to rehab without leaving Target Field.
Polanco said he strengthened his hamstring for the first five days before doing any hitting.
"When he went down, we didn't think it would take him overly long," Baldelli said. "We knew fairly early that he'd be back pretty soon. He's in a good place right now. He's been doing things at full speed for a while. So he's going to be fine."
To clear a place on the 26-man roster, the Twins optioned infielder Edouard Julien to Class AAA St Paul. Julien played in those 11 games at second base and hit .200 with two doubles, two homers and four RBI.