(*) Joe Crede had an epidural in his back, and the Twins are waiting to decide whether he’ll be placed on the DL. He has missed the past five games, but apparently at one point when Crede was battling back problems with the White Sox, he was able to play a few days after having an epidural.

(*) Francisco Liriano also had a cortisone shot in his left elbow. This came as a postgame surprise, but as I wrote in our notebook, Manager Ron Gardenhire said he isn’t counting on Liriano or Glen Perkins to rejoin the rotation this season.

(*) As noted in the game story, Nick Blackburn’s fastball averaged 89.3 miles per hour. According to Fangraphs.com, that’s 1.5 mph off his season average.

“To be honest, these radar guns are kind of off a little bit,” Blackburn said. “I don’t think that has any indication how I’m throwing.”

Opponents are batting .381 off Blackburn since the All-Star break. He said the Orioles hit some good pitches tonight, but he’s not hiding from the fact he’s 0-5 with an 8.22 ERA in eight starts since the break.

“I’m getting tired of it,” he said. “It’s very frustrating to come to the field every time and continue to do this stuff. I’m trying to battle my way out of it, and I’m working just as hard as I was earlier in the season. I’m just trying to fight through it. Everyone keeps saying that’s how baseball is, but it’s frustrating.”

The Twins will try to extend their season-long winning streak to six games tonight, with Nick Blackburn on the mound opposite Baltimore’s Jeremy Guthrie.

Nick Punto gets the start at third base, with Joe Crede injured and Alexi Casilla entrenched at second. For the Orioles, All-Star CF Adam Jones, veteran 3B Melvin Mora and rookie C Matt Wieters are all out of the lineup.

Ty Wigginton gets the start at third base, so fans who clamored for the Twins to sign him can get a first-hand look.

Updates to come.

Update: We’re still awaiting a definitive update on Crede’s back injury. He did see the doctor today, and there was consultation with Dr. Andrew Dossett, the Dallas orthopedist who performed Crede’s second back surgery during the offseason.

ORIOLES (51-75)

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
2. Cesar Izturis, SS
3. Luke Scott, 1B
4. Nick Markakis, RF
5. Nolan Reimold, LF
6. Michael Aubrey, DH
7. Ty Wigginton, 3B
8. Felix Pie, CF
9. Chad Moeller, C

Starting pitcher: RH Jeremy Guthrie (8-12, 5.45 ERA)

TWINS (63-63)

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

Starting pitcher: RH Nick Blackburn (8-8, 4.27 ERA)

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

The Tigers are the only AL Central team above .500 right now and they had lost 10 consecutive road series before winning the first two at the Big A this week. That about sums up the division, eh?

John Lowe explains here how defense spurred Detroit to its 5-3 win over the Angels on Tuesday, helping give a shaky Jarrod Washburn his first win since the trade from Seattle.

Meanwhile, Joe Cowley describes this as a road trip that could define Chicago’s season (@ Bos, @ NYY, @ Min, makeup game @ Cubs), and there are plenty of angst-ridden quotes from Ozzie Guillen after his club slipped back to .500.

A key moment in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Red Sox came in the eighth inning. Tie score, runners at first and third with no outs, and Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski and Alex Rios can’t bring home another run. Cue Ozzie:

That killed us. If you watched us all year long, we’re really bad with men on third base and less than two outs, maybe the worst team in baseball right now. If someone is worse than us, that’s a record.

That and Scott Linebrink’s latest meltdown prompted Guillen to suggest it’s not a good time for certain body parts to start tightening.  

The White Sox had hoped Jake Peavy could start Saturday at Yankee Stadium, but he took a comebacker off his pitching elbow Monday at Class AAA Charlotte. If Peavy is held back, he could still face the Twins next week at the Metrodome. As Cowley notes:

Mark Buehrle hasn’t won since his perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 23, Jose Contreras is now a reliever, and Freddy Garcia still is working through the kinks as he tries to return from shoulder problems.

Note: Check back here later for tonight’s starting lineups as the Twins’ try to extend their winning streak to six games.

Alexi Casilla pushed his batting average above .200 for the first time since April 17 in Monday night’s 2-1 victory over Baltimore.

Casilla is always quick to leave the clubhouse after home games, so I didn’t get his reaction, but others were singing his praises. He made another diving play in the hole between first and second to rob the speedy Felix Pie of a hit in the sixth inning. Then, Casilla hit a leadoff triple and scored the tying run.

Manager Ron Gardenhire mentioned that he had Carlos Gomez sacrifice bunt to put Brendan Harris in scoring position for Casilla in the seventh. Casilla lined to center in that at-bat, but he is 10-for-21 in his past six starts at second base, which has raised his average to .202.

“Best all-around stretch this year, for sure,” Gardenhire said. “He’s forgotten about the rest of that stuff, and he’s playing from here on, and that’s what he has to do. He’s playing good defense, he’s into the game, he’s heads up — that’s the Lexi that we know.”

Said Denard Span: “That’s the Casilla that helped us last year. Get him going, that’s going to be real good for us. I’ve been rooting for him. It’s been a rough year for him. He’s so good. I think everybody on this team is happy to see him picking it up and playing the way he normally does.”

OTHER TIDBITS

(*) Joe Nathan needed 29 pitches to get through the ninth inning after needing 53 pitches to get through two innings Saturday. Gardenhire said pitching coach Rick Anderson was talking to Nathan about the need to simply his breaking pitch arsenal.

(*) La Velle called tonight’s comeback in a text message: “The sixth inning has been magic for the Twins.” Sure enough, after two more runs tonight, the Twins have now scored 19 sixth-inning runs in their past eight games.

(*) Scott Baker is 10-1 since June 1, with a 3.50 ERA in 16 starts during that stretch.

(*) Jose Mijares has pitched 12 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

(*) The Twins are now 7-19 against the AL East. They’ll send Armando Gabino to the mound Tuesday night for his major league debut, looking to stretch their winning streak to a season-high five games. Head to La Velle’s blog for the starting lineups.

Justin Morneau is back in the starting lineup for the Twins tonight, after being out with an inner-ear infection.

He was out here for early batting practice, hitting balls with authority.

Update: Joe Crede had been out with ankle soreness, but now it’s his back again. He was not on the field for BP.

Update: Armando Gabino arrived from Class AAA Rochester, in preparation for Tuesday’s start against Baltimore.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said the team is anxious to see Gabino pitch after seeing him pitch in relief during spring training.

“He’s very athletic on the mound,” Gardenhire said. “Fields his position very well and has a good arm. He’ll get the ball up lower to mid-90s [mph]. He uses all of his pitches, so we’ll see. He’s a young kid, probably going to be a little nervous, and hopefully he’ll throw the ball over the plate and give us a chance to win.”

Update: Orioles All-Star CF Adam Jones is not in the lineup tonight because of a bad back.

Update: The Twins announced that they’ll be sending seven players to the Arizona Fall League this year: Chris Parmalee, Steven Singleton, Rene Tosoni, Michael McCardell, Alex Burnett, Spencer Steedley and Steven Hirschfield.

ORIOLES (51-73)

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
2. Cesar Izturis, SS
3. Luke Scott, DH
4. Nick Markakis, RF
5. Nolan Reimold, LF
6. Matt Wieters, C
7. Melvin Mora, 3B
8. Michael Aubrey 1B
9. Felix Pie, CF

Starting pitcher: RH Chris Tillman (1-1, 4.80 ERA)

TWINS (60-63)

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

Starting pitcher: RH Scott Baker (11-7, 4.62 ERA)

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