I’ll post the lineups here and send updates as they come.

Update (12:10 p.m.): The Royals are a major league best 35-24 in games started by lefthanded pitchers heading into today’s start by LHP Glen Perkins.

Royals RHP Gil Meche is 10-3 with a 3.16 ERA since June 10.

Update (12:45 p.m.): The Angels clinched the American League’s best record on Friday night and opted to begin the ALDS on Wednesday.

That means, if the Twins reach the playoffs, they will open on Thursday at Tampa Bay. The Angels will play the Red Sox. (Corrected from earlier, as the Rays officially clinched the AL East title on Friday.)

(*) Kevin Slowey said his right wrist is less sore but more stiff today. “Not as painful, but decreased mobility,” he said.

If the Twins have to play a one-game playoff with the White Sox on Tuesday, Slowey would be doubtful to make that start. However, the Twins are hopeful that he’ll be ready to make a start by Game 3 of a potential playoff series.

Once the swelling subsides, Slowey should be able to start playing catch and go from there.

(*) Brian Buscher has the flu, so Brendan Harris is at third base.

Update (6:10 p.m.): Cleveland pitcher Cliff Lee has been scratched from Sunday’s start against the White Sox, according to the Chicago Tribune. Bryan Bullington will pitch in Lee’s place.

Royals (74-86)

1. Mike Aviles, SS
2. Alberto Callaspo, 2B
3. Jose Guillen, RF
4. Ryan Shealy, 1B
5. Mark Teahen, LF
6. Billy Butler, DH
7. Alex Gordon, 3B
8. John Buck, C
9. Mitch Maier, CF

Starting pitcher: Gil Meche (13-11, 4.05 ERA)

Twins (87-73)

1. Denard Span, RF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Jason Kubel, DH
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Brendan Harris, 3B
8. Nick Punto, SS
9. Carlos Gomez, CF

Starting pitcher: LH Glen Perkins (12-4, 4.50)

Metrodome. First pitch: 2:55 p.m.

Cleveland pitcher Cliff Lee is a safe bet to win the AL Cy Young Award, but he might miss a chance to become a unanimous selection — a la Johan Santana in 2006 — if he skips Sunday’s start against the White Sox.

I know because I have one of the 28 votes.

Lee is questionable for Sunday’s start because of a stiff neck. He played catch before Friday’s game in Chicago and told reporters the injury is still nagging him.

“I’m not putting myself in a position to get hurt any worse,” Lee told mlb.com.

He added, “It almost feels like I slept on it weird. It’s a little more sore now than before because I pitched the other night. Hopefully it’s one of those things that just fades away and isn’t serious.”

Call me cynical, but I believe Lee would be probable — not questionable — for Sunday’s start if Cleveland needed a win Sunday to reach the playoffs. I also believe he would make that start if he was trailing in the Cy Young race.

In that spirit, with the White Sox and Twins battling for a playoff spot, I believe Lee owes it to his sport to start. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he wished Lee would “start all three games [in Chicago],” but he wasn’t questioning Cleveland’s judgment.

“Goodness, he’s thrown a lot of innings this year,” Gardenhire said. “If he has a neck problem, and they are not going to pitch him, that’s a health reason. … That’s protecting your own guy for the next year.”

Obviously, I don’t think Lee should start if he could do long-term physical damage. But if this start makes his neck stiffer, he’ll be making his next start (Opening Day) on about 215 day’s rest.

I keep hearing what a competitor he is. Well, he was in the minors much of last year while Cleveland made its run to the ALCS. This year, injuries wiped out Cleveland’s playoff chances by May.

Since then, Lee has made several starts that have had zero impact on the pennant race — his five-hit shutout of the White Sox on Sept. 1 notwithstanding. Anyway, this is another chance.

I imagine if Lee doesn’t pitch, the story will be that Cleveland manager Eric Wedge made the decision for him.

“If he doesn’t want to pitch, then I don’t want him out there,” Twins right fielder Denard Span told mlb.com. “I want somebody that is going to go out there and win, Eric Wedge. … If Cliff Lee doesn’t want to win, sit on the bench.”

Listen, I’m not saying I won’t make Lee my No. 1 Cy Young choice if he doesn’t pitch Sunday, but it will factor into my decision. Roy Halladay has had a terrific season, too. On Thursday, he improved to 20-11 with his ninth complete game of the season.

CLIFF LEE
22-3, 2.54 ERA
223.1 IP, 4 CG, 2 SHO
170 K, 34 BB
1.11 WHIP, .633 opponents’ OPS
6.13 run support average
(Cleveland entered Friday 79-80)

ROY HALLADAY
20-11, 2.78 ERA
246 IP, 9 CG, 2 SHO
1.05 WHIP, .621 opponents’ OPS
4.72 run support average
(Toronto entered Friday 84-75)

Just sayin’.

The Twins’ veterans were soaking in the incredible comeback victory, the sweep, the return to first place — all of it Thursday night. But they tried keeping the clubhouse focused on what lies ahead this weekend.

The Royals are 11-2 in their past 13 games and they’ll arrive at the Metrodome on Friday as a young team with nothing to lose.

“Tomorrow night’s just as important as tonight was,” Michael Cuddyer said. “We can’t forget what the Royals did for us in 2006, going into Detroit and sweeping [helping the Twins win the division title]. We have to remember that. We have to ride this emotion tonight and settle back down and focus tomorrow.”

The White Sox, meanwhile, are a much different team at home — just like the Twins — and they’ll be playing host to Cleveland.

“That’s a pretty good team over there [in the Chicago clubhouse],” Justin Morneau said. “They haven’t played [158] games just to go away at the end, so we can’t be satisfied.”

The Twins’ magic number to clinch the the division title is 4 — meaning any combination of Twins wins and White Sox losses totaling four, and Chicago will be eliminated.

“We still know we’ve got some work to do,” Joe Nathan said.

(*) X-rays on Kevin Slowey’s right wrist were negative, but Manager Ron Gardenhire said he was concerned. Slowey is very sore and will have an MRI exam today. Slowey was slated to pitch the one-game playoff against Chicago on Tuesday (if necc.), but now his availability for that start — or Round 1 of the playoffs — is in doubt.

(*) You wouldn’t have known the Twins have serious bullpen issues by watching the Chicago series. Their relievers allowed two runs on six hits in 12 1/3 innings. On Thursday, they allowed four hits and no walks in 6 1/3 innings.

(*) Batting race update: Joe Mauer went 3-for-5, raising his AL-best average to .330. Dustin Pedroia is at .325. (Corrected from earlier.)

I’ll post the lineups now and send updates as they come.

Update (6:25 p.m.): It sounds like there’s a good chance Cliff Lee will skip Sunday’s start against the White Sox after skipping Thursday’s workout with a stiff neck.

(*) Manager Ron Gardenhire said all of his relievers will be available to pitch tonight.

(*) Glen Perkins was very encouraged by his bullpen session on Wednesday, saying it was the best he’s felt in about a month. Sounds like the extra rest this week will do him some good for Saturday’s start against KC.

(*) Jose Mijares is eligible to be on the Twins’ postseason roster. I’ll have details in the notebook.

Update (8:32 p.m.): La Velle will keep you updated on Kevin Slowey’s right wrist injury over on his blog.

Twins (86-72)

1. Denard Span, RF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Jason Kubel, DH
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Brian Buscher, 3B
8. Nick Punto, SS
9. Carlos Gomez, CF

Starting pitcher: RH Kevin Slowey (12-12, 3.85 ERA)

White Sox (86-71)

1. Dewayne Wise, LF
2. Orlando Cabrera, SS
3. Jermaine Dye, RF
4. Jim Thome, DH
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
6. Ken Griffey Jr., CF
7. Alexei Ramirez, 2B
8. A.J. Pierzynski, C
9. Juan Uribe, 3B

Starting pitcher: RH Gavin Floyd (16-8, 3.84 ERA)

Metrodome. First pitch: 7:10 p.m.

Late Wednesday at the Metrodome, there was no doubt which team was feeling more pressure heading into Game 3 between the Twins and White Sox.

The White Sox are 2-13 in their last 15 games on artificial grass, and 5-11 in their past 16 road games.

“I’m not saying if we win [tonight] we’re in the playoffs by any means,” White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle said. “We’ve got a good team coming in [Friday], in Cleveland. But we’re at home, we’ve got our home crowd behind us.”

The White Sox are at the end of a 10-game road trip, and their mood reminds me of the Twins’ after Saturday night’s loss at Tampa Bay. The Twins openly called Sunday’s game a must-win — a win they delivered behind Francisco Liriano — and that’s basically what the White Sox were saying last night.

“We had chances,” A.J. Pierzynski said. “But, you know what? We get them [today], these first two games don’t really matter.”

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. As Aaron Gleeman notes today, Cleveland is 30-15 in its past 45 games. But the Twins will finish against a Kansas City team that has quietly put together an 11-2 run.

Looking ahead, here are the pitching matchups for the weekend:

White Sox
Friday: John Danks (11-8, 3.20) vs. Cleveland’s Scott Lewis (3-0, 1.42)
Saturday: Javier Vazquez (12-15, 4.46) vs. Cleveland’s Zach Jackson (1-3, 5.96)
Sunday: Mark Buehrle (14-12, 3.87) vs. Cleveland’s Cliff Lee (22-3, 2.54)

Twins
Friday: Francisco Liriano (6-3, 3.39) vs. Kyle Davies (8-7, 4.21)
Saturday: Glen Perkins (12-4, 4.50) vs. Gil Meche (13-11, 4.05)
Sunday: Scott Baker (10-4, 3.59) vs. Brandon Duckworth (3-2, 5.06)