The Twins were so bad Tuesday night, one wonders if anybody should still care, but here are the updated standings:

DET 59-53 –
CWS 58-56 — 2GB
MIN 54-58 — 5GB
CLE 49-63 — 10GB
KC 44-68 — 15GB

BOS 7, DET 5
When I heard Kevin Youkilis had charged Rick Porcello at Fenway Park, my first question was who won? As in, who got whom? I’d heard that Porcello clobbered Youkilis, which surprised me. Watching replays, however, with Porcello giving that “Why, what’s wrong?” hand motion, and seeing he’d simply executed a headlock-takedown, I’m not giving him the “win.”

Actually, for the Tigers, it was a BIG loss. With Porcello ejected, Chris Lambert couldn’t hold the 3-0 lead. The Tigers fell to 0-2 at Fenway with two games remaining in this series, and they are 0-3 at Yankee Stadium, and they still have a September trip awaiting to Tampa Bay. The Twins went 1-8 in those AL East ballparks, but at least they’re done going there.

Tonight: Armando Galarraga (6-10, 5.23 ERA) vs. Josh Beckett (13-4, 3.12)

CWS 3, SEA 1
With Alex Rios expected to join the lineup tonight, the White Sox pulled out a huge win at Safeco Field. Trailing 1-0 in the ninth, the White Sox appeared to have wasted a terrific performance by Jon Danks. But Alexei Ramirez hit a three-run, ninth-inning homer off Mariners closer David Aardsma lifting Chicago to victory.

As the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales notes, the White Sox were 0-49 when trailing after eight innings.

Tonight: Mark Buehrle (11-6, 3.89 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez (12-4, 2.84 ERA)

Note: The Twins will send Francisco Liriano (4-11, 5.63) to the mound, opposite KC’s Brian Bannister (7-8, 3.97 ERA). La Velle will have the lineups later this afternoon.

Trying to make sense of the White Sox, boggles the mind. And just when you think you know them, they pull a 1-2 punch like this, acquiring RHP Jake Peavy and OF Alex Rios, adding gobs of payroll after previously crying poor.

As Ken Rosenthal writes, “Nice bluff.”

[GM Ken] Williams’ additions of right-handed Jake Peavy in a trade and outfielder Alex Rios on a waiver claim increased his team’s payroll by approximately $5.5 million for this season alone.

The years ahead? Hoo boy. Peavy is owed $48 million between 2010 and ‘12, plus a $4 million buyout or $22 million club option for ‘13. Rios is owed nearly $60 million between ‘10 and ‘14, plus a $1 million buyout or $13.5 million club option for ‘15.

Yet, neither move was outlandish. The White Sox have managed their payroll well, keeping their long-term commitments to a minimum. Starting next season, Rios can take the salary slot of designated hitter Jim Thome, who is earning $13 million. Peavy can take the slots of right-handers Jose Contreras and Octavio Dotel, who are earning a combined $16 million.

The bigger question is whether the White Sox invested in the right players. Both moves come with considerable risk, even though Peavy and Rios both are 28 and just entering their primes. Peavy might face difficulty adjusting to a pitching in a hitter-friendly ballpark in the hitter-friendly American League. Rios has yet to fulfill his 30-homer, 30-stolen base potential. Still, Peavy already is a Cy Young Award winner, Rios a two-time All-Star.

Granted the White Sox gave up nothing, merely taking on the $60 million still owed Rios by Toronto.

Buster Olney adds, “Put it this way: If Alex Rios became a free agent today, what would he get? Answer: Maybe not even half what he is owed. Maybe the best he would do would be a two-year, $20 million contract, or three years at $30 million. Maybe.”

That’s a risk most teams wouldn’t take. Just when the White Sox started acting more like the Twins, they went back to acting like the Yankees again. Of course, that thinking helped Chicago win a World Series in 2005. The Twins haven’t won it since 1991.

As noted here, if the Tigers play .500 the rest of the season, the Twins would have to go 32-19 to pass them and hope the White Sox falter, too.

The Twins best hope is the schedule. I know Cleveland has been on a surprising roll since its fire sale, but this is a good week for the Twins to get rolling at the Dome, with three against KC (starting Tuesday), followed by three with the Indians.

Meanwhile, the Tigers play four games in Boston. The Red Sox are reeling after getting swept by the Yankees, and they’ll face Edwin Jackson (2.62 ERA) tonight, but they are returning to Fenway Park, where they are 35-17. Tonight, the White Sox will send Gavin Floyd to the mound in Seattle, and there are stiffer tests ahead. Consider:

TWINS
51 games — 27 at home (where they are 31-23), 24 on the road (23-34).
The Twins got pounded on East Coast swings through Boston, New York and Tampa Bay earlier in the year, and they’ve had their their annual meltdowns out West, but those trips are over now. Only four remaining road series look daunting: @Tex (4), @Tor (4), @White Sox (3), @Det (4).

TIGERS
52 games — 27 at home (where they are 36-19), 25 on the road (23-33).
They still have to go to Tampa Bay, Oakland and Anaheim — and Detroit has had some miserable West Coast trips over the years, too. If this races goes to the end, Detroit has the toughest 10-game finish: @White Sox (3), Twins (4), White Sox (3).

WHITE SOX
50 games — 21 at home (where they are 33-27), 29 on the road (24-28).
This part of the schedule is actually pretty soft, as they’ll go to Seattle and Oakland and come home for KC and Baltimore. But then, they go on a brutal 11-game road trip: @Bos (4), @Yankees (3), @Twins (3), @Cubs (1-game makeup). Then it’s home for four against Boston. Later, they’ll go west again to play the Angels and Mariners. They end the season @Cle (3), @Det (3).

ARLINGTON, TEXAS — Three links of note today:

On the former Twins, front, “The legend of mighty Garrett Jones, the Pirates’ 28-year-old natural, is growing by leaps and bounds,” writes Dejan Kovacevic in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That’s seven home runs in 12 games, including bookend homers in a 14-inning walkoff victory last night.

Within the division, the Tigers placed RHP Joel Zumaya back on the DL with a sore right shoulder.

Patrick Reusse got a tour of Target Field and called it spectacular. This whole column/blog post is worth the read, but this sums it up:

I was 15 when the Twins played their first game at Met Stadium. I was at that one, and maybe another 800 before the team moved to the Metrodome for the 1982 season. I loved the Met, but I can’t wait to see the smiles on the faces of today’s 15-year-olds when they walk into Target Field next April and say, “This is my ballpark. This is where I’m going to watch my team for the next 40 years.’’

Note: Check back later for tonight’s Twins/Rangers lineups and notes.

ST. LOUIS — Twins catcher Joe Mauer will bat third for the American League All-Star team on Tuesday night.

The lineups were unveiled this morning at a downtown St. Louis hotel. Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan are both AL reserves.

Mauer, who is starting his second All-Star Game, will participate in his first Home Run Derby tonight, with Cretin-Derham Hall coach Jim O’Neill as his pitcher.

American League
1. Ichiro Suzuki, RF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Mark Teixeira, 1B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Josh Hamilton, CF
7. Evan Longoria, 3B
8. Aaron Hill, 2B
9. Roy Halladay, P

National League
1. Hanley Ramirez, SS
2. Chase Utley, 2B
3. Albert Pujols, 1B
4. Ryan Braun, RF
5. Raul Ibanez, LF
6. David Wright, 3B
7. Shane Victorino, CF
8. Yadier Molina, C
9. Tim Licecum, P

Busch Stadium. Tuesday, 7 p.m.