Twins first baseman Justin Morneau has been named to the American League team for Monday’s Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium.

Morneau, batting .323 with 14 homers and 68 RBI, received a phone call from MLB this morning, when the request was made. And Morneau couldn’t turn down the opportunity to take part in the event in the last season of Yankee Stadium.

This will be the second straight year Morneau has participated in the event. He hit only four home runs last year in San Francisco and failed to get out of the first round.

His pitcher last year was Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. He has selected hitting coach Joe Vavra to be his pitcher this time

2:06 Update:  Nick Punto has been scratched from the lineup with a strained right ring finger. Brian Buscher will bat seventh and play third. Brendan Harris will drop down to eighth and play short.  Punto, who is day-to-day, grimaced while taking a swing on Friday.

Detroit is a mess. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is fighting perjury charges. A local television anchor was recently suspended for her involvement in a sludge plant scandal.

There seems to be another casino open each time I come here. I almost bought it driving down I-75 to Comerica Park this morning because the drainage on the highways stink and there are puddles all over the place. Former NBA jumpshooter Dave Bing is contemplating a run for office so he can clean things up.

Then there’s old Tigers Stadium, which hasn’t been used since 1999 but is just being demolished now. I took a spin around the ballpark before Thursday’s game and became depressed. It was a great place to watch a game. The pressbox stunk, but I tried to sneak down into the stands once a series.  I’ve sat in the overhang in right. I’ve sat behind home plate, where the sounds bounced off the upper deck and created a wonderful atmosphere. I remember hearing Twins closer Rick Aguilera, who rarely gets mad, blow up at the home plate umpire about ball and strike calls. Tom Kelly’s only major league homer was hit in Tigers Stadium.

I also remember some chubby 13-year old taking early batting practice with his father and hitting bombs into the seats. That kid now is playing first base for the Brewers.

I was mad at how old Comiskey Park was torn down, one side at a time. I thought I was watching an amputation. But occasionally driving by Tigers Stadium over the past 10 years has been much worse.

But I leave you with this as the clubhouses are about to open.

John Lowe, longtime Detroit Free Press baseball writer, is well-respected among his peers. His contribution to the game was creating the, `quality start,’ category.

In the middle of deadline last night, we found out that the White Sox had lost to the Rangers, allowing the Twins to move within 1.5 games of the Sox in the AL Central.

Lowe turned to me and held up five fingers.

“FIVE postseason appearances in this decade,” he said.

“Are you projecting a division title for the Twins this year?” I responded.

“I think it’s inevitable,” Lowe said.

Lineups

Twins (52-41): 1. Carlos Gomez, CF. 2. Alexi Casilla, 2B. 3. Joe Mauer, C. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Craig Monroe, DH. 6. Delmon Young, LF. 7. Brian Buscher, 3B. 8. Brendan Harris, SS. 9. Denard Span, RF. Pitching: Scott Baker.

Tigers (46-46): 1. Curtis Granderson, CF. 2. Placido Polanco, 2B. 3. Carlos Guillen, 3B. 4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B. 5. Matt Joyce, RF. 6. Marcus Thames, LF. 7. Gary Sheffield, DH. 8. Brandon Inge, C. 9. Ramon Santiago, SS. Pitching: Nate Robertson.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is still talking about Thursday’s win, during which the Twins took an early lead, fell behind 6-2 but chipped away for a comeback win. Given the three losses at Boston earlier in the week, another loss would have been tough to take.

You get the sense that when Gardenhire looks down his bench, he likes what he sees.

“Yesterday was a big ballgame. I really felt that,” he said. “The way it went down. And that says nothing about what’s going to happen tonight.

“We got down and you can see which way the guys what to go with this. And there was no quit in that baseball team. That’s all I care about. We kept grinding and kept rooting for each other. And that’s why I’m impressed with this baseball team.

“We were like, `Get one here. Get one there. Good at-bats, boys.’ And we just kept grinding. And I really enjoyed that game. It got me fired up on the bench. I try to be as calm as I can but I was pacing. That’s because it was exciting the way the guys were into it.”

The coaching staff spent batting practice figuring which relievers were able to pitch tonight, but it would help if Glen Perkins goes seven strong innings. “He knows,” Gardenhire said.

Since his recall on June 30, Denard Span is batting .467, fifth best in the majors. Justin Morneau, by the way, is third at .474.

 Morneau on Thursday was the first player to go 5 for 5 with an extra-inning home run since Tony Perez of the Reds did it on Sept. 21, 1973.

Again, I can’t stress enough how much Gardy’s eyes are twinkling today.

“You look at (Boston) and you look at (Detroit), they are two of the best teams in the league. There are two of the teams here, Detroit and Boston, that were supposed to win their divisions. So were not playing patsies here and we are playing with them. Toe to toe, Nose to nose. Muhammad Ali!”

Lineups

Twins (51-41): 1. Carlos Gomez, CF. 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. Denard Span, RF. Pitching: Glen Perkins.

Detroit (46-45): 1. Curtis Granderson, CF. 2. Placido Polanco, 2B. 3. Carlos Guillen, 3B. 4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B. 5, Marcus Thames, LF. 6. Gary Sheffield, DH. 7. Matt Joyce, RF. 8. Ivan Rodriguez, C. 9. Ramon Santiago, SS. Pitching Armando Galarraga.Â

Kevin Slowey said his struggles on Thursday were similar to his last start at the Dome. The difference is that he made adjustments at the Dome but kept overthrowing against the Tigers on Thursdays.

All of the Tigers’ run-scoring hits - all - came on pitches that Mike Redmond had to reach out of his target zone for.

“My teammates played well without me and our bullpen did and we hit well,” Slowey said. “I just didn’t hold up my end of it.”

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire noted how Detroit starter Kenny Rogers threw softer in tough situations while his young pitchers throw harder. Slowey agreed. “I have to slow down and let pitches take care of themselves.”

Francisco Liriano had his third straight strong start tonight, shutting out Durham for seven innings on three hits with a walk and eight strikeouts. He’s now 7-2 with a 3.53 ERA. He threw 87 pitches.

If my math is correct, Liriano has walked three and struck out 24 over his last three starts. And he’s on a run of 21.1 scoreless innings.

That looks a lot like the stretch the Twins wanted to see before they would consider calling him up.  Since he pitched tonight I can’t get reaction to his outing from the club, but I talked to one person at the park today and got the sense that they still wanted to see an extended strong run from him. How long that is I’m unsure.

For the conspiracy theorists, my rough math shows that Liriano should be outside the range of service time needed to qualify for Super-2 arbitration status.

Even if the Twins decided tomorrow that they want Liriano up, who leaves the rotation? I know what you’re thinking: Livan.

There are no signs the Twins are giving up on Hernandez (9-6, 5.44 ERA) , who was hit hard again in Boston on Wednesday. It’s not what you want to hear but that’s the way it is. There are pitchers in baseball who would commit crimes to have nine wins before the All-Star break like Hernandez does. And his problem has mostly been on the road: He’s 7-1 at home.

Hernandez said after Wednesday’s game that he’s usually a second half pitcher - which is true and not so true.

For his career, he’s 80-76 with a 4.56 ERA before the break and 63-58, 3.99 after. Last year, he was 6-6, 5.44 after the break, which isn’t good. In 2006, he was 7-5, 3.61 after the break, which is acceptable.

So I don’t know what to think about Livan’s second half this year. But I do see the Twins giving him several more starts. He’d have to go on a Sidney Ponson-Ramon Ortiz run of negativity before I would expect a change.

Nick Punto is batting .320 but his name in this part of the country might as well be Skoula.

He deserved every boo he got last year when he batted .210. But now it’s time to admit that he’s more like the 2006 version who hit 290. His latest highlight-worthy defensive play came in the second inning today when he hooked up with Justin Morneau for a nifty 3-6 double play.

And Gardenhire said before today’s game that Punto pretty much is an everyday player now. Punto and Casilla cover a lot of ground up the middle. “I like him out there,” Gardenhire said.

Finally, Michael Cuddyer resisted the temptation of going to one of the 73 casinos in this area. He was headed to the movies to see either Hancock or Wall-E. I expect a review tomorrow.

Detroit has won three straight and 10 of its last 14 and will not concede the division. “We’re no different than any other team,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “If you play nine innings you have a chance.”

The Twins should be a little ticked off for this series after getting swept by the Red S0x. The offense let them down on Monday. The bullpen blew up on Tuesday. Then came the gangster-slapping on Wednesday.

There were other problems. Livan Hernandez is 7-1 at home. On the road? Yuck. And the baserunning should have been a lot better. The Twins will have to clean up their game against the Tigers.

Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers’ slightly husky first baseman,  hit two homers on Wednesday, including a walk-off, and is batting .343 over his past 26 games.

The Tigers sent righthander Eddie Bonine to Class AA Erie after the game as oufielder-first baseman Jeff Larish, who’s batting .265 with 17 homers and 53 RBI at Toledo, rejoins the major league club.

Brandon Inge has been recalled from his rehab assignment and catcher Dane Sardinha was designated for assignment.

Also, the demolition of Tigers Stadium has begun. It’s about time. There’s no city in America that lets old buildings waste away like Detroit. It’s a shame the city couldn’t find a way to transition the park into something useful. At least 90 percent of the place will be recycled.

12:22 update: Michael Cuddyer’s finger problem won’t go away, which puts the Twins in a little bind. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he hoped to send Cuddy to the minors during the All-Star break to get a couple swings but he can’t grip a bat yet. There’s also some soreness in the palm of his hand. So everything is on hold until Cuddyer can at least hold a bat.

Joe Mauer is getting a day off. Mike Redmond is batting .429 against Kenny Rogers.

Adam Everett was 1 for 3 on Wednesday for the Twins’ Gulf Coast League team as  he works his way back from shoulder problems. He’s still a ways away, and he’ll probably get some time at Class AAA Rochester before the Twins figure out their next move with him.

Tigers shortstop Edgar Renteria injured his left hamstring while running to first base yesterday and is out.

Lineups

Twins (50-41): 1. Carlos Gomez, CF. 2. Alexi Casilla, 2B. 3. Mike Redmond, C. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Craig Monroe, DH. 6. Delmon Young, LF. 7. Brendan Harris, 3B. 8. Nick Punto, SS. 9. Denard Span, RF. Pitching: Kevin Slowey.

Tigers (46-44): 1. Curtis Granderson, CF. 2 Placido Polanco, 2. 3. Carlos Guillen, 3B. 4. Miguel Cabrera, DH. 5. Mat Joyce, RF. 6. Marcus Thames, LF. 7. Jeff Larish, 1B. 8. Pudge Rodriguez, C. 9. Ramon Santiago, SS. Pitching: The Gambler.Â