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Kansas City is in need of a boost heading into the All-Star break.The reigning World Series champion Royals have dropped five of six entering Thursdays opener of their four-game series with the Seattle Mariners in Kansas City, which will bring both teams into the break.Kansas City suffered its fourth straight loss Wednesday night while stumbling through a three-game sweep by Toronto, which concluded with a 4-2 defeat.The Royals (43-41) havent been as dominant since ending a 30-year title drought last year, but theyre only a hot streak from contending in the American League Central.Were an aggressive team when were swinging the bats well, Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. Right now, were just not making any hard contact.Seattle, meanwhile, had won five of eight entering Wednesdays series finale at Houston, which it lost 9-8 after starter Wade LeBlanc gave up five runs in 3 1/3 innings.The Mariners (43-42) took two of three when the teams first met this year on April 29-May 1, blanking Kansas City in the first two games. Last season, the Royals won four of six against the Mariners.Two 27-year-old southpaws toe the rubber Thursday as Seattles James Paxton (2-3, 4.24 ERA) counters Kansas Citys Danny Duffy (4-1, 3.11).Paxton is making his eighth start in place of ace Felix Hernandez, who landed on the disabled list June 1 with with a strained right calf.He is 2/3 with a 4.24 ERA in place of Hernandez, who threw a 45-pitch, three inning simulated game Wednesday and said he is ready to begin a minor league rehab assignment.That was pretty good, to get back out there and face some hitters, Hernandez told MLB.com. That last inning was 100 percent. I picked up the intensity and it was way better. It felt pretty good. Im happy.In his last outing, Paxton surrendered four runs (three earned), nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of Saturdays victory over Baltimore.Paxton has experienced smooth sailing against the Royals historically, going 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA in two starts against the defending champs.One of his best starts came against Kansas City in 2013, when he struck out a career-high 10 batters while holding the Royals scoreless on four hits and no walks in seven innings.Eric Hosmer is the only Kansas City batter with more than one hit off Paxton, going 2-for-4 against him.Duffy is looking to make it three straight starts of at least eight innings after allowing just four runs while striking out 16 in his last 16 2/3 innings entering Wednesday.On Saturday, Duffy limited Philadelphia to two runs and seven hits in a personal-best 8 2/3 innings, fanning eight for the third consecutive start. He also didnt walk a batter for the second straight outing.In his last six starts, Duffy has had his punch-out pitch working, striking out eight or more in five of those outings -- including a career-high 10 on June 11 at the Chicago White Sox.Duffy is 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five career appearances (three starts) against the Mariners. Robinson Cano has given him fits, going 4-for-11 (.364) with a homer and four RBI.Chris Ianetta has two hits against Duffy, going 2-for-6 with a homer and two RBI, and Kyle Seager is 3-for-8. Sean Elliott Jersey .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Marco Belinelli Jersey . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. https://www.spurslockerroom.com/Demarre-Carroll-City-Edition-Jersey/ .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. Pau Gasol Spurs Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Sean Elliott Spurs Jersey . 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. NEW YORK -- New York Mets third baseman David Wright appears resigned to missing the remainder of this season, although he predicted his career is not over.Im going to be out for an extended period of time. ... But I plan on coming back and being the player that I feel like Im capable of being. We shall see, Wright said Friday at Citi Field, in his first public comments since undergoing surgery June 16 to repair what Wright said was a significant disk rupture in his neck.Wright, 33, acknowledged he will lose about 5 percent of the range of motion in his neck because he required fusion in addition to a discectomy.Dr. Robert Watkins, who has also treated Wright for spinal stenosis in his lower back, spoke with urgency in advocating surgery to address the disk issue, Wright said. The only question was what type of procedure to undergo.Watkins removed the damaged disk and fragments that were putting pressure on Wrights spinal cord. Doctors were concerned those fragments could cause bruising or permanent damage if not treated swiftly with surgery.The surgery was performed through Wrights throat, with the fusion process aided by bone marrow extracted from Wrights hip. Screws and a plate were inserted.I hope that this is correct, but when this heals, it should be as good as new, Wright said.Wright noted the fusion will put more pressure on other disks. Still, Watkins believes those disks are fairly healthy and should be able to handle the extra load, Wright said.Wright still is dealing with residual pain and soreness from the surgery, although it has lessened in the past week. He is due to stop using pain medications next week.Wright said a bigger concern than the residual pain is losing his balance or someone accidentally bumping him, because any jolt can have serious repercussions. Because he would be defenseless in the dugout, Wright began watching Mets home games from the bullpen Thursday.Wright is required to wear a neck brace when he is around people and while riding in a car. He started putting his socks and shoes on and taking walks this week, which he deemed progress.He has an appointment scheduled for three months after the surgery to determine the progress of the fusion. And because no real activity will take place in the interim, it precludes returning this season.You can do the math, Wright said. The next three months, its really not doing anything. Its letting the bones fuse together.Wright stressed that his primary focus, for now, is getting healthy to avoid having any post-baseball issues with his neck. He already will have enough to deal with since the spinal stenosis in his lower back is chronic.This is, for me, in my mind, beyond something that can be rushed to try to get back on the baseball field, Wright said. The sense of urgency for this in the doctors voice was much greater than the sense of urgeency when I talked to him about my back last year.ddddddddddddI love the game of baseball. I cant wait to get back out there. But the most important thing for me now is my health and trying to get my neck healed, because if I go and do something that Im not supposed to, were not talking about baseball. Were talking about something thats going to affect me later in life.Wright acknowledged that his lower-back issue will complicate the process of preparing for games once he gets back on the field.It took me a little longer to get ready for spring training this year because of the back, Wright said. Now that Im immobile for the foreseeable future, itll be interesting to see how my back responds to that. And I think it will be interesting to see what it takes to get my back where it was while I was playing.Wright said he had no hard feelings that the Mets worked out free-agent Cuban third baseman Yulieski Gourriel last week. If the Mets sign Gourriel, it could mean third base wont be available once Wright returns, because Gourriel would require a multi-year contract.Theyve got to do what it takes to get this team better and back to the playoffs, Wright said. Im no good on the field right now.Wright is signed through 2020, although insurance should soon begin covering 75 percent of his salary for the time he misses.Within days, Jose Reyes should be promoted from Double-A Binghamton and man third base for the Mets.Asked for his reaction to Reyes reunion with the organization, Wright said, I love it. Hes a very good friend of mine.While Wright predicted that Reyes energy would have a positive impact on the Mets, Wright was also highly critical of Reyes Oct. 31 domestic-violence incident.I feel like what he did was awful, terrible, Wright said. Theres just no other way around it. With that being said, in my eyes, hes done what he could do to earn a second chance. If hes going to be given a second chance, I think this is a good place for it. I think hes comfortable here. This is home for him. I cant say it enough: What he did is something that is horrible and should never be done. So I hope that hes learned his lesson. In everything he said, it seems like hes acknowledged the great mistake that it was and that hes not going to let it happen again, and I hope thats correct.As for Wrights health issues, he said he had no regrets.At some point, your body, I would say, gives way, Wright said. I think its just natural, especially when you play since I was 4 or 5 years old. Of course, theres wear and tear in my body.If you told me, yeah, youd have to have a neck surgery, youd have some back issues, hell, Id do it all over again because I enjoy what I do. And I plan on continuing to enjoy what I do. ' ' '