Prince scratched from opener vs. Mariners

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers had hoped to get Prince Fielder back in the lineup on Tuesday after giving him Saturday and Sunday off to recover from some neck stiffness. That did not happen.

Fielder, who has a herniated disk in his neck, was in the original lineup but was still experiencing some weakness in his left side. Fielder had an injection on Friday, and the Rangers wanted to give him at least one more day for the medicine to provide relief.

"I'm coming along all right," Fielder said. "I can still feel a little weakness … not so much pain but a little weakness. I'm not too concerned. There is nothing I can do except give it another day. I plan to play [Wednesday]. That's the plan."

Fielder, who is hitting .247 with three home runs and 16 RBIs, has been bothered by the problem for some time but did not say exactly how long other that it had been "really sore" this season.

The Rangers acquired Fielder from the Tigers in the offseason and open a four-game series against them on Thursday in Detroit. Fielder said he was not worried about getting back to play against his former team.

"I don't care about the Detroit series; I just want to get back," Fielder said.

The Rangers also scratched Leonys Martin from Tuesday's lineup because of stiffness in his neck. Martin was originally scheduled to bat leadoff for the first time this season. Daniel Robertson hit leadoff instead.