Mizzou Baseball in the Majors & Minors

■ Kinsler sits, hopes to return to Texas Rangers today (Dallas Morning News)

The strained left hamstring that forced Ian Kinsler (03) out of the game on Tuesday also kept him out Wednesday against Detroit. Kinsler, though, is optimistic that he will be ready to play today.

Still, the Rangers reinforced their infield by recalling Joaquin Arias and optioning right-hander Doug Mathis (05) to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

"It's a lot better, and I'm getting treatment on it," Kinsler said. "I think I could pinch hit, but I'm just going to give it a com"We definitely had to get some backup on the infield," manager Ron Washington said.

"Mathis was a guy that still had options left and it made sense, but it was a tough decision."

Mathis was an emergency starter Tuesday when Vicente Padilla (swine flu) couldn't go.

"It's just bad timing on my part," Mathis said. "I understand the decision. I could be upset about the whole thing, but that's not me. I just need to go down there, pitch well and get back up here."