The Second Half Begins: Rangers at Royals Thread

Tonight, the second half of the MLB season kicks off. The three days between the All Star game and the beginning of the second half always feel like they take forever, but that's especially true this year after the Royals were swept in Los Angeles last weekend.

Today, they'll look to open the second half with a win against the Texas Rangers, who are 43-45 and one of the more disappointing teams in the American League this season.

Most teams use the second half as an opportunity to restart their pitching rotation. Not the Royals, who will start their worst regular starter in game one of the post-All Star slate. Jason Hammel (4-8, 5.04 ERA) will oppose Martin Perez (4-6, 4.60) in a game that should feature lots of runs. At least it's not 100 degrees in Kansas City today.

Just a heads up: I get off work at 10:30 or so, so the recap will probably be a bit late. I promise it'll be there later tonight. Stay patient with this Kevin.