I’m anxious to see Rangers pitcher Matt Harrison tonight. He came over from Atlanta in the Mark Teixeira trade last season, and this will be his third major league start.

The Twins counter with Livan Hernandez, who is 7-1 with a 4.04 ERA at the Metrodome this season.

Update (4:55 p.m.): Michael Cuddyer did not have an MRI exam or any exam today. The knuckle feels a little better, but he still has no timetable for when he’ll be able to do baseball activities. Nick Punto’s knuckle is still sore and he was having trouble putting his left hand in his glove. If there’s not more progress for him by Sunday, the Twins could have a roster move before they get to New York on Monday.

Rangers (50-47)

1. Ian Kinsler, 2B

2. Michael Young, SS

3. Josh Hamilton, CF

4. Milton Bradley, DH

5. David Murphy, LF

6. Hank Blalock, 3B

7. Marlon Byrd, RF

8. Chris Davis, 1B

9. Max Ramirez, C

Starting pitcher: LH Matt Harrison

Twins (54-42)

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

Starting pitcher: RH Livan Hernandez

Metrodome. First pitch: 6:10 p.m.

It was only one stinkin’ game, and I’m probably obsessed with it this morning because nobody else in the AL Central played last night, but the Tigers’ 6-5 win at Baltimore seemed telling.

Magglio Ordonez returned from the DL. Brandon Inge hit his first home run on the road in more than a year. Joel Zumaya needed 14 pitches in a 1-2-3 eighth, lowering his ERA to 1.46. And Gary Sheffield looked … like Gary Sheffield.

John Lowe’s game story in the Detroit Free Press has terrific detail about Jim Leyland getting a tip for Sheffield from a Hall of Famer at a clothing store in New York, and Leyland passing it to hitting coach Lloyd McClendon, who passed it to Sheffield, who then hit his first home run in 14 games. Sheff would have had another homer if Jay Payton hadn’t reached over the wall to rob him. As Lowe writes:

It must be kept in mind that the Tigers have been a consistent offensive machine in the last two seasons only in that 2 1/2 -month span last season when Sheffield was healthy and productive.

One of the wisest old scouts in the business passed through the Metrodome shortly before the All-Star break and predicted the Tigers would win the division. He called them a second-half team, he noted that Justin Verlander was rolling and said Miguel Cabrera is getting more comfortable and will soon become the same force he was in the National League.

Here in the blogosphere, this would be a far more effective post if I rattled off 150 different statistical reasons to back up the old scout’s wisdom. I won’t. I’m just telling you it was in his gut, and he’s been right a lot over the years.

The biggest reason I doubted his theory was Sheffield, who entered the break batting .217/.323/.338. All I’m sayin’ is this: It’s a three-team race, and the Twins’ current 5-game lead over Detroit is every bit as important as their 1 1/2-game deficit to Chicago.

Note: Best thing I read off the Home Run Derby came here, of course. A Max Mercy byline, ghostwritten by some other Joe:

“I thought ze Derby was never to end,” Lajong said. “I mean, what was zat, eh, six hours? I fell asleep two times. Roy kept hitting zem out. I guess he, how you say, tuckered out.”

Hobbs knocked the cover off of 12 balls, smashed two light towers, knocked out three sportswriters (but continuously missed your humble correspondent — work on that aim, Roy!) and cracked 19 car windshields. He did unwittingly admit afterward that he was not entirely in command of the Home Run Derby rules.

Francisco Liriano’s agent, Greg Genske, today confirmed a FoxSports.com report that the players’ union has agreed to investigate whether the Twins are violating the collective bargaining agreement by keeping the lefthander in the minors.

“I have not been informed that anything’s been filed,” Twins General Manager Bill Smith told the Star Tribune. “I’m not going to worry about it.”

Liriano has two years and 45 days of major league service time. A player needs three years of service time to qualify for arbitration, but of the players with between two and three years, the top 17 percent qualify for arbitration as “Super Twos.”

For Liriano, qualifying for arbitration would likely earn him more than $1 million in additional 2009 salary, but even if the Twins promoted him today, with 74 days remaining in the season, he would likely fall far short of the Super Two threshold.

“We contacted the players’ association and laid out the facts and they determined that it was reasonable cause to initiate an investigation,” Genske told the Star Tribune.

Asked if the team factors service time into roster decisions, Smith said, “Our only goal is winning games. That’s all it’s ever been.”

Added Genske: “All I will say is that we felt there were enough facts to warrant a contact with the players’ association and get them involved in the matter.”

After a sensational rookie season in 2006, Liriano underwent Tommy John elbow surgery. He returned to the big leagues for 14 days in April of this season but was sent back to Class AAA Rochester after going 0-3 with an 11.32 ERA.

Liriano has rebounded at Rochester, going 7-0 with a 2.93 ERA in his past 10 starts. But the Twins are 21-7 in their past 28 games and have been generally pleased with all five of their current starters.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Smith said. “I know [Liriano’s] frustrated. I know he wants to get back to the big leagues. He’s a competitor. We’re thrilled to see how well he’s doing. In his last 10 starts, each one was a little bit better than his previous one.

“I have no doubt that he’s going to be a big part of this organization in the future.”

Smith compared Liriano to Denard Span, who was thriving at Rochester but had to wait for a promotion until a roster spot opened because of Michael Cuddyer’s injury.

“There is no timetable, and I think everyone understands that,” Smith said. “I speak to the agent [Genske], a lot more than I speak to Francisco.”

(*) Staff writer La Velle E. Neal III contributed to this story.

(An early morning post from the Yankee Stadium clubhouse, where Justin Morneau’s face was still bright red when reporters gathered around him in the clubhouse.)

NEW YORK — Twins first baseman Justin Morneau slid home with the winning run, jumped to his feet and hugged his closest teammate. It was Chicago White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin.

Never mind the heated division rivalry. The American League had just finished a 4-3, 15-inning triumph at Yankee Stadium, extending its All-Star unbeaten streak to 12 games.

“At that point, the game’s about 5 1/2 hours old,” Morneau said. “Your legs aren’t exactly feeling great. I had just enough in the tank.”

It was the second walk-off win for the AL in All-Star history. The other came in 1941, when Ted Williams hit a three-run homer off Claude Passeau at Tiger Stadium.

One night after winning the Home Run Derby, Morneau became the AL’s table setter. He replaced Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis in the sixth and had two leadoff base hits, coming around to score twice.

Morneau went 2-for-4 with an intentional walk, as he also missed chances to bring home the go-ahead run in the eighth and the 10th.

(Twins catcher Joe Mauer reached base in both of his at-bats, with a single and a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Ian Kinsler in the fifth. Joe Nathan breezed through a scoreless seventh inning with eight pitches.)

“The starters had it easy,” Morneau said. “Five innings, they were out of there. Every at-bat, it seemed like we had a chance to win the game late. It was pretty intense. Guys were snapping after making outs. You could tell guys wanted that game pretty bad.”

At four hours, 50 minutes, it was the longest All-Star Game in history and matched the longest for innings played. The NL defeated the AL 2-1 in 15 innings in 1967.

This time, both teams used all their available pitchers and position players. Tampa Bay’s Scott Kazmir and Philadelphia’s Brad Lidge both entered in the 15th inning, meaning if this game had gone much longer, both teams could have been turning to position players.

“I had no idea,” Morneau said. “It’s a good thing we won it when we did. Nobody wanted to see me pitch, I know that.”

Morneau singled to center field, starting the 15th. Dioner Navarro singled him to second, and J.D. Drew walked, loading the bases. Michael Young followed with a fly ball to right field, about medium depth. Milwaukee’s Corey Hart made a strong throw, and Braves catcher Brian McCann tried to apply the tag.

“It’s one of those things where you hope the throw’s off line,” Morneau said. “He’s got a real good arm — one of the best arms in the National League in right.”

Morneau said he felt “like I was running in quicksand.” He slid foot-first, and it was “about as close as you can get,” he added. Replays showed he was safe.

Let’s see: Win the Home Run Derby and score the winning run in the final All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Not a bad couple days — or is it three days — for Morneau.

“Definitely,” he said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”

NEW YORK — I woke up, grabbed some Dunkin Donuts coffee, and made my way to the Intercontinental hotel, where the Hall of Famers had gathered for 30 minutes of press availability. Not a bad way to start a morning.

There are 40 Hall members here for tonight’s on-field pregame ceremony, and about 30 of them were sitting at tables in one room. Walked in, and Harmon Killebrew was talking about Yankee Stadium, pre-renovation, and how difficult it was for righthanded hitters.

“I remember hitting four balls one night that would have been out of any other ballpark,” Killebrew said. “But it was Yankee Stadium, and after the third one, Mickey [Mantle] came up to me — he came across the infield as I’m going to my position — and I said, ‘Mickey, how in the heck do you ever get a hit in this ballpark? And he just grinned and laughed.”

The Hall members were at a swank Manhattan restaurant during the All-Star Home Run Derby. The derby was on the TVs, and they watched with the sound muted, making up their own commentary.

I’ll have more on this for our first editions, but they were all pretty amazed at Josh Hamilton’s performance. Killebrew and Paul Molitor, in particular, were thrilled to see Justin Morneau win.

“That was great,” Killebrew said. “I know he felt bad over the other guy [Hamilton] — he really did. He said that, and I know he meant that. But I was happy to see him win the home run championship.”

Scheduling update: Please note that the first pitch tonight is at 7:39 p.m. (Central). The Red Carpet Parade, which is going on now, I believe, will be replayed on Fox starting at 6 p.m. The on-field stuff starts about 6:30 p.m.

They’ll sing “Oh Canada” at 7:17 p.m. (Mr. Morneau, Ryan Dempster and Russell Martin would appreciate your attention.) Sheryl Crow will follow with the “Star Spangled Banner.”

Eventually, they’ll play ball, and the National League will try to snap its 11-game winless streak.

National League (40-36-2)

1. Hanley Ramirez, SS

2. Chase Utley, 2B

3. Lance Berkman, 1B

4. Albert Pujols, DH

5. Chipper Jones, 3B

6. Matt Holliday, RF

7. Ryan Braun, LF

8. Kosuke Fukodome, CF

9. Geovany Soto, C

Starting pitcher: RH Ben Sheets

American League (36-40-2)

1. Ichiro Suzuki, RF

2. Derek Jeter, SS

3. Josh Hamilton, CF

4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B

5. Manny Ramirez, LF

6. Milton Bradley, DH

7. Kevin Youkilis, 1B

8. Joe Mauer, C

9. Dustin Pedroia, 2B

Starting pitcher: LH Cliff Lee

Yankee Stadium. First pitch: 7:39 p.m.