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.Salomon Shoes Nz Stockists . 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Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history.LOS ANGELES -- The Arizona Diamondbacks biggest offseason acquisition is set to make his first appearance against the team he represented for three seasons and helped win three successive division championships.Right-hander Zack Greinke, who spurned the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent to sign a six-year contract worth $206.5 million, will pitch against his former teammates Monday evening when the Diamondbacks begin a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.From 2013 through 2015 with the Dodgers, Greinke won 51 games and compiled a 2.30 ERA. He also finished among the top 10 for the National Leagues Cy Young Award all three seasons, including second last year to the Chicago Cubs Jake Arrieta, while winning two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger award.Last year, Greinke led the major leagues with a 1.66 ERA, collected a career-high 19 wins and started for the NL in the All-Star Game. In 222 2/3 innings, the 12-year veteran conceded just 40 walks and 148 hits while amassing 200 strikeouts.The Diamondbacks hoped Greinke and other offseason acquisitions as Shelby Miller and Jean Segura could combine with Paul Goldschmidt, A.J. Pollock, David Peralta and Yasmany Tomas to ignite a surge toward playoff contention. Instead, Arizona is battling the San Diego Padres to stay out of last place in the NL West.Greinke (12-4) leads the Diamondbacks in wins, but his ERA has ballooned to 4.17, his worst since 2010. He has already allowed 140 hits while striking out just 114. Away from Phoenixs Chase Field, Greinke owns seven victories but a 5.50 ERA.Last week, the Dodgers expressed interest in re-acquiring Greinke after he cleared revocable waivers, Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal reported, as the right-handers departure in January further depleted Los Angeles thin rotaation.dddddddddddd However, Rosenthal reported that discussions did not proceed very far, and USA Todays Bob Nightengale added that the Diamondbacks would not trade Greinke during the offseason.Opposing Greinke on Monday will be the veteran signed to replace him, right-hander Kenta Maeda(13-8, 3.37 ERA). After eight seasons with the Hiroshima Carp in Japans Central League, Maeda signed an eight-year contract worth $25 million in January, one month after Greinke joined the Diamondbacks.In his final season in Japan, Maeda led the Central League with 15 victories, compiled a 2.09 ERA and limited opposing hitters to a .222 average. That performance enabled Maeda to win the Sawamura Award as the best pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball for the second time.Maeda will pitch with a full week of rest after his last start. The 28-year-old rookie collected six strikeouts in five innings Aug. 29 against the Colorado Rockies, but he allowed two runs on four hits and a walk in an 8-1 loss. Those runs were the result of a Nick Hundley two-run homer.That one pitch, a slider, was definitely a mistake, Maeda told MLB.com through an interpreter regarding Hundleys homer. Overall, I thought I pitched pretty well. I always want to pitch longer, but that one pitch led to the team losing.Before that defeat, Maeda won his previous four starts and earned victories in five successive decisions since July 23. During that stretch, he allowed 28 hits and only seven walks in 33 2/3 innings while getting 30 strikeouts, compiling a 3.74 ERA and allowing permitting hitters to bat just .226. However, Maeda also conceded six home runs in that span. ' ' '