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DETROIT -- The best teams in the American League Central Division in recent years wallowed in mediocrity prior to the All-Star break. Both will be seeking to jump start their seasons when they face each other for a three-game weekend series.Injuries and spotty starting pitching left Kansas City and Detroit hovering around the .500 mark for a good portion of the season. The Tigers trail pitching-rich Cleveland by 6 1/2 games, with the Royals a half-game behind them and tied with the Chicago White Sox in third place.Kansas Citys lineup has been in a state of flux since collision between third baseman Mike Moustakas and left fielder Alex Gordon on May 22. Moustakas suffered a season-ending knee injury and Gordon fractured his wrist.Gordon has returned to the lineup but the Royals entered the break with dynamic center fielder Lorenzo Cain (hamstring) and top closer Wade Davis (forearm strain) on the 15-day disabled list. Both are expected to return shortly, perhaps as early as this weekend.The Royals are hopeful their run of bad luck is behind them.If theres a team that can put together a run, its us, first baseman Eric Hosmer told MLB.com. Weve had a weird first half. Its definitely been inconsistent. It seems like anytime we get someone back then someone else goes down. Its just been kind of tough.Hosmer comes into the second half on an emotional high after winning the All-Star Game MVP award. Hosmer and catcher Salvador Perez put the AL in front with second-inning homers.I felt like a proud papa there in the second inning after those two guys gave us the lead, Royals and All-Star manager Ned Yost said during the postgame press conference. Its been a long time since Ive been that proud of two players in a moment like that.Ian Kennedy will start the series opener on Friday at Comerica Park. Kennedy (6-7, 3.97 ERA) has pitched well recently, averaging six innings and two earned runs in his last three starts while striking out 29 batters. Hes winless in four career starts against Detroit, posting a 0-3 record and 4.94 ERA.Detroit has been streaky throughout the season. It finished its pre-All-Star break campaign on a down note, losing five of its last seven after winning the first four games of an 11-game road swing. The Tigers are also 2-5 against the Royals this season, though all of those games were played in Kansas City.Any time you have a winning trip youre happy about it, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said to the Detroit Free Press. But when you win the first four and then end up losing five of the next seven, youre not real excited.The Tigers come out of the break still missing right fielder J.D. Martinez and two-fifths of their rotation. Martinez fractured his right elbow when he ran into a wall chasing a foul ball in Kansas City on June 16th. Starters Jordan Zimmermann (neck strain) and Daniel Norris (oblique strain) also begin the second half on the disabled list.Without that duo, Ausmus was forced to put struggling Anibal Sanchez back in the rotation. Sanchez was the losing pitcher at Toronto on Sunday.Starting pitching needs to be better overall, Ausmus told MLB.com. If we can get some of these guys back, like Zimmermann and Norris, get some health in the starting rotation; that obviously would be a big boost. We dont expect them to miss much time going into the second half, but we still have to get them back on the mound before we know exactly who we have in the rotation.Ausmus will go with Justin Verlander, who has won six of his last eight decisions, on Friday. Verlander has 21 career wins against Kansas City, his most against any opponent. Hes 21-8 with a 3.26 ERA overall against the Royals. Vapormax Femme Solde . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Vapormax Plus Pas Cher . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. http://www.vapormaxsolde.fr/basket-vapormax-blanche-grossiste.html . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. Vapormax Plus Moins Cher . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Vapormax Plus a Vendre . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. SEATTLE -- Seattle ace Felix Hernandez couldnt pick a better time to be regaining his form.Hernandez pitched eight strong innings and Mike Zunino homered and drove in three runs to lift the Mariners to an 8-2 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday night, handing the Brewers their sixth straight loss.Im getting better every time out, said Hernandez, who missed almost two months with a strained right calf. The first two innings, not that loose, and then after that everything clicked. Good fastball, good changeup, good curveball.Hernandez (8-4) gave up two runs and seven hits, striking out eight and walking one to improve to 4-0 with a 3.80 ERA in seven starts since coming off the disabled list on July 20. Steve Cishek, who had lost his closers role, pitched a perfect ninth.Hes rounding into Felix form, no doubt, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. Hes having fun. Hes healthy. He feels good about where hes at. Hes got some bullets left in his arm, having been out as long as he has. Hes still fresh.Seattle, which has won eight straight homes games and 12 of its last 15 overall, pulled one game behind Baltimore for the American Leagues second wild card.Zunino and Leonys Martin hit back to back homers off Wily Peralta (5-9) to open the bottom of the seventh, stretching Seattles lead to 4-0. Peralta was making his third start since being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs.When you face a guy like King Felix, your teams not going to give up, said Peralta, demoted in June after being the Brewers opening day starter. Not many runs, overall, until the last two home runs in the seventh, so I think I was throwing OK.The Brewers broke through against Hernandez in the eighth on an RBI double by Ryan Braun and a run-scoring single by Hernan Perez.The Mariners then added four runs in the bottom of the inning, capped by Zuninos two-run double to right-center.I just knew I had to be patient throughout the night and Id get a couple pitches I could hit, said Zunino, who was not called up from Triple-A until late July. Its just nice to be in a couple of those situations late in the game with runners on.Martin manufactured a run in the third to put Seattle up 1-0. He walked, stole second, moved to third on Ketel Martes ground out and came home on Norichika Aokis single to left.Aoki drove in the Mariners second run in the fifth, slapping an opposite-field double to left to score Marte from first.The Mariners doubled their lead in the seventh when Zunino opened with his eighth homer and Martin followed with his 14th.I think they weere bad pitches, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.dddddddddddd Tired? I thought the first two hitters, I thought hed be good for sure for the first two hitters. I wanted Blaine (Boyer) ready for Marte, but unfortunately the first two hitters homered.Hernandez pitched out of trouble several times earlier, stranding a runner at third in the first, and runners at second in the second and sixth.His last two starts, hes just getting stronger and stronger, catcher Zunino said. Hes finding his rhythm, his commands great, hes doing a great job throwing the ball inside to both lefties and righties and thats opening everything up. And, his change-ups getting very close to what it was.AOKI HOTThe veteran outfielder, who was sent to Triple-A Tacoma for 16 games in July, has hit safely in 11 of his last 15 games, including three three-hit games. He is hitting .358 over that stretch with five doubles, three RBI and hit by pitches twice. I think I made pretty good pitches to him. But he just still found the barrel, put it in play, Peralta said. The first hit he got was on a very good pitch. The second one I missed a little bit. The third one was a fastball up, for some reason he just put the barrel on it. Hes pretty hot right now.TRAINERS ROOMBrewers: RHP Junior Guerra, on the 15-day DL (right elbow inflammation) reported no problems after a bullpen session on Friday and now will pitch in a simulated game. The next step for him will be Monday, hell face hitters ... basically pitch two innings, manager Craig Counsell said. Guerra, a 31-year-old rookie, has been a surprise with a 7-3 record and 2.93 ERA in 17 starts.Mariners: LHP James Paxton, on the 15-day DL with a bruised left elbow after being hit by a line drive, made a short rehab start Saturday at Triple-A Tacoma. In a 53-pitch outing, Paxton allowed two hits with one walk and three strikeouts in three scoreless innings. He could return to the rotation next Thursday.UP NEXTBrewers: RHP Matt Garza (4-5, 4.87 ERA), makes his first start against the Mariners since 2010, when he was with Tampa Bay. Garza opened the season on the DL and is making his 13th start since being activated in mid-June. He is 3-1 in his last four starts.Mariners: Rookie LHP Ariel Miranda (1-0, 5.79) makes his third start for Seattle since being acquired from Baltimore for Wade Miley. He allowed three runs on three hits on five innings in his last start, a no-decision. ' ' '