By CHRIS ASSENHEIMER

Staff Writer

CLEVELAND — Jason Tyner is hoping he sticks around for a while, at least long enough for the Indians to face the Minnesota Twins.

“I thought I had earned my stripes (in Minnesota),” said Tyner, who signed a minor league contract with the Indians this offseason after the Twins elected not to re-sign the outfielder, following three years of service. “I had a tough role. You’d go a week without playing, but I thought I did my job. I guess they didn’t think about that when they made the decision.

“I’d like to get a shot at them. I know that.”

Minnesota makes its first trip to Progressive Field for a three-game series June 10-12. Tyner, who was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday and started in the second game of Monday’s doubleheader, may or may not be around.

Thanks to the postponement Sunday, the Indians will need a sixth starter to pitch the series opener in Cincinnati on Friday, with the job expected to go to Buffalo’s Jeremy Sowers.

If Tyner is sent back down to clear room for Sowers, he could return to the big league roster in 10 days, but then there is the matter of outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, who is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Buffalo on Wednesday. If that goes well, Choo, who is attempting to come back from Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, is without minor league options and the Indians are expected to find a spot for him on the 25-man roster.

If Tyner does get the opportunity to play against the Twins, he’ll undoubtedly be looking to prove they made a mistake in letting him go. His release did come as a surprise after he spent all of the 2007 season on Minnesota’s big league roster, batting a respectable .286 with a home run and 22 RBI in 114 games.

Tyner said a number of teams were interested in signing him to a major league contract this winter, but that after that fell through, Cleveland was the obvious choice.

“If I was going to do a minor league deal, I wanted it to be with someone that had the chance to win the World Series, someone that wanted to win,” Tyner said.

o o o COMING SOON? Jake Westbrook (strained rib cage muscle) is scheduled to throw a simulated game today. Westbrook, who has not pitched since April 19, will begin a rehab assignment soon and has told reporters that he would need just one outing before returning to the rotation, which manager Eric Wedge is still expecting to occur by the end of the month. The right-hander was off to a good start, posting a 2.73 ERA in four starts prior to the injury.

o o o NEXT UP: The Indians wrap up a seven-game homestand with a three-game series against Oakland, which begins tonight at 7:05. Paul Byrd (1-3, 4.28) opens the set against right-handed pitcher Justin Duchscherer (3-1, 2.45), while C.C. Sabathia (2-5, 6.55) opposes right-handed pitcher Joe Blanton (2-5, 3.82) on Wednesday (7:05). Aaron Laffey (1-2, 1.83) will go for the Indians in the series finale Thursday (12:05), while Oakland counters with left-handed Greg Smith (2-2, 3.00). It is the last meeting between the teams, with the A’s winning four of the first six games this year.

o o o THINK PINK: With rain postponing the Mother’s Day/breast cancer awareness festivities at Progressive Field, MLB permitted players from the Blue Jays and Indians to use the pink bats they planned to employ Sunday in the first game of the doubleheader Monday. Cleveland’s Ryan Garko and Asdrubal Cabrera were the only ones to take advantage of the opportunity, with Cabrera using the pink Louisville Slugger to hit a pivotal home run in the seventh inning of a 3-0 win in the opener. It was the only time Cabrera used the pink bat during the game.

o o o ROUNDIN’ THIRD: Entering Monday’s doubleheader, Indians starting pitchers had overtaken Oakland for the lowest ERA (3.41) in the American League. The starter in the nightcap, Cliff Lee, owned the majors’ lowest ERA (0.81). … Slumping shortstop Jhonny Peralta was out of the lineup for the second straight game in the opener, with just five hits in his last 39 at-bats (.128).

Assenheimer may be reached at cassenheimer@chroniclet.com or 440-329-7137.