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. Cheap Air Max 95 Wholesale . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Cheap Air Max 95 China . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. http://www.airmax95cheap.com/ . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Air Max 95 For Sale Cheap . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. Cheap Air Max 95 Free Shipping .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Christian Eriksen scored for Denmark to begin World Cup qualifying with a 1-0 win over Armenia, while Poland squandered a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw with Kazakhstan on Sunday.Poland captain Robert Lewandowski scored for the sixth consecutive qualifier -- with a penalty in the 35th minute after Bartosz Kapustka got the visitors off the mark against Kazakhstan in the ninth.But two quick goals in the second half from Sergei Khizhnichenko ensured Kazakhstan started Group E with a point in Astana.Eriksen got Age Hareide -- and Denmark -- off to a good start in the Norwegian coachs first competitive game in charge when he netted the only goal in Copenhagen in the 17th minute, though the Tottenham midfielder failed to convert a penaltyy in the second half when Armenia `keeper Arsen Beglaryan saved his spot kick.ddddddddddddHareide took over from the long-serving Morten Olsen, who had already announced he was stepping down before the side failed to qualify for the 2016 European Championship.---ROMANIA 1, MONTENEGRO 1Nicolae Stanciu missed the chance to win the late Group E game for Romania, firing a penalty over in the seventh minute of injury time in Bucharest.Romania substitute Adrian Popa thought hed scored the winner when he made the breakthrough with just five minutes remaining, but Stevan Jovetic replied by crashing an equalizer in off the crossbar. 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