DETROIT -- The Twins have long projected Jason Kubel to one day be one of their starting outfielders.

But the loss of Rondell White to injury for a significant period of time has left the Twins with an opening in left field. And the chance for Kubel to get that starting spot has emerged a bit sooner than expected.

Since White's injury, Kubel has been getting the majority of the playing time in left field. Despite a slow start to the year offensively for Kubel, who's hitting just .250, the Twins have high hopes.

"With Rondell definitely out for a while, he has to step up," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Kubel. "We've been playing him out there in left field and letting him get plenty of at-bats because we believe he's an impact player. He can be one of these guys that can do some damage, so we're trying to give him as many at-bats in a row and see if he can get going."

Kubel had been expected to be used primarily as a DH this season with a few choice starts in the outfield. Kubel has been looking forward to the chance to get back in the outfield, and though it took an injury for Kubel to get the shot at the everyday spot in left, it's one he's still taking with open arms.

"You don't want to see [injuries], but it opens up opportunities for somebody," Kubel said. "I was fine with the way things were, I was still playing, but now I have the chance to get in there every day now and play left field."

This isn't the first time that Kubel has been given a chance to earn a starting outfield spot. The outfielder received a similar opportunity late last May when he was called up due to a Shannon Stewart injury. Though it took Kubel a little time to get going, he emerged as a budding breakout player not long after getting consistent playing time.

Kubel hit .333 in the month of June, going 27-for-81 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. The outfielder was starting to feel comfortable at both the plate and in the field when his health problems with his knees derailed that chance. The soreness he experienced in his knees kept him off the playing field for most of the second half.

"I'm feeling great now and I'm starting to get more comfortable in the outfield again after not playing there for almost the entire second half last year," Kubel said. "So now it's just great to get another opportunity to show what I can do."

As for earning the starting spot, Gardenhire said it's up to Kubel to determine that.

"It's totally up to him, with how he does and how he hits," Gardenhire said. "We'd like to see some consistency. He's been doing better and I like the way he's swinging. We're going to let him play, so now it's up to him."

Man on a mission: Jeff Cirillo made a proclamation before he underwent surgery to fix a torn meniscus in his left knee on April 11 that he would be one of the players to beat out the usual 4-6 week timetable.

With the team expected to activate him on Tuesday, just a little under three weeks after the surgery was performed, it looks like he will do just that. So the process has gone as well as Cirillo expected?

"Yeah, I would have to say better," Cirillo said Saturday morning. "I'm a competitor and an athlete, so when someone puts a timeline on you, you know I'm going to beat that. It's just the way we're wired. So when the doctors told me 4-6 weeks, I said, 'OK, I'm going to beat that or at least fall in that four area, not six.' I don't know if it has anything to do with [the speedy recovery], but it's with anything."

Cirillo has felt good about his knee for the past few days but said he was not putting any pressure on the staff to get him back on the field right away. Cirillo said the decision to wait on activating him is one that everyone has agreed upon together.

"It's been a collective group decision," Cirillo said. "I don't want to say I'm ready to go and then go out there and [hurt] something. But I can only go with how I feel, and I feel pretty good."

Key play: The Twins got some key hits off right-hander Joel Zumaya in the eighth inning en route to capturing their big 5-3 win over the Tigers on Friday night.

But the biggest play of the inning might have actually come on an out. The bunt that Luis Rodriguez laid down to move the runners over to second and third with no outs in the inning was a big topic of discussion in the clubhouse on Saturday morning.

"To square around with a guy throwing 100 mph, that's a little nerve wracking, to say the least," Gardenhire said. "He not only bunted but made it a perfect bunt, too."

Rodriguez said that his main focus was on trying to get the end of the bat on the ball rather than completely squaring up, knowing that the ball likely would have come off the bat hard with the speed of Zumaya's pitches.

The bunt snapped an unfortunate streak the Twins have had lately with runners in scoring position.

"We failed a couple days in a row getting that runner over, and it kills you," Gardenhire said. "But when you execute like that, it puts pressure on the other team and good things happen."

Twins tidbits: Jason Tyner got the start at DH on Saturday with Gardenhire saying he was a bit nervous to use backup catcher Mike Redmond in the spot for fear that Joe Mauer's sore quad might act up. ... The Twins' streak of hitting doubles continued on Saturday, as it was the 19th straight game the team has tallied at least one extra-base hit. Coming into the game, the Twins had 55 on the season, tying them with Toronto for the most in the Majors. ... Four of Justin Morneau's six home runs have come against left-handers this year.

Extras: Lew Ford was scheduled to fly up to Toledo and join Triple-A Rochester either Saturday or Sunday for his first official rehab assignment. Ford has spent all of the season in Florida, completing a rehab program after undergoing arthroscopic surgery in mid-March to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Nick Punto suffered a jammed right pinky finger during his pickoff in the first inning. He was able to play the rest of Saturday's game but the finger was a bit swollen after the game.

Down on the farm: Twins general manager Terry Ryan was on hand Friday night in Toledo to watch Matt Garza pitch six innings, allowing just two runs on five hits, in Triple-A Rochester's 6-2 loss to the Mud Hens. Garza struck out six and walked just one batter in the contest. Garrett Jones blasted his third home run of the season in the loss.

Coming up: The Twins close out their three-game series at Detroit on Sunday in a 12:05 p.m. CT contest. It will be a battle of the southpaws as the Twins send ace Johan Santana to the mound and left-hander Mike Maroth will get the start for the Tigers.