The All-Star break is over which means the second half of the Major League Baseball schedule begins today. The Cardinals struggled towards the end of the first half, but rallied to win their last three. St. Louis holds a four-game lead over the Reds in the National League Central. The Birds are home tonight against the Dodgers, who are in second place in the NL West. Jason Marquis will get the start for the Cardinals against Chad Billingsley for the Dodgers.

The Royals showed some imrpovement over the last month of the first half. They fell just a game short of celebrating a winning month in June. Kansas City is 31-56 which is the worst record in the American League. Mark Redman represented the Royals at the All-Star game but received a lot of skepticism over his selection. Redman didn’t pitch in the game either. KC didn’t get any help from the scheduling gods, they open up at Detroit, who happens to have the best record in the Majors. Brandon Duckworth will make the start for the Royals against Jeremy Bonderman for the Tigers.