KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The two teams are a combined three games over .500, so to say the remaining three games of the series are crucial might be a bit of a stretch.The Seattle Mariners (43-43) and the Kansas City Royals (44-41) have three games remaining in a four-game series that will conclude the unofficial first half of the season. Both teams still feel there is plenty of time to get back into their respective division races.We have some good players, Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano said after his team gave up a three-run lead in the last two innings Thursday and lost 4-3 to the Royals. We will keep playing.You lose as a team and you win as a team. We dont want to blame anybody here.The Mariners and Royals are two of eight teams within 4 1/2 games of the American League wild-card lead. Just a few games past the midway point in the schedule is no time to put extra pressure on this series, according to Kansas City manager Ned Yost.Then again, Yost says he doesnt do that for any series.I dont know how many times I have to go over this, he said before the game. I dont feel (extra) urgency. The reason for that is that we feel urgency every day. We dont treat these situations with more urgency than any other situation. In a major league season, every game is important. Your mindset has to be that this is the most important game of the year. Tomorrow, thats going to be your mindset.Royals rookie second baseman Whit Merrifield added, I wouldnt say theres urgency, but its always important to put together good games and try to take the series. Going into the All-Star break it would be good to finish strong and build momentum. But I wouldnt say that its any more urgent than any other series.I dont know about it still being early, but theres a lot of baseball left. A lot of stuff can happen between now and September or October. There are lot of games to be played and a lot of ups and downs to come.Seattle has experienced ups and downs on the road. The Mariners started the season with a 19-8 road record, but they have now lost 15 of their last 17 away contests, including nine straight. Seattle is hitting the ball -- it has 129 home runs, the second-highest total in the majors. They Mariners also are pitching well, as they own the fourth-best ERA in the American League (3.94).Their defense has let them down. Seattle is tied with the Minnesota Twins for the worst fielding percentage in the league.The Royals problems are almost opposite. Kansas City is one of the better defensive teams, but it ranks last in the American League in home runs and RBI. The starting pitching also is struggling. Danny Duffys strong outing Thursday was just the teams 32nd quality start in 85 games.The Royals will throw inconsistent Yordano Ventura (6-6, 5.26 ERA) on Friday night. When hes on, hes on. When hes not, hes not.Recent back-to-back starts against the Tigers and the Cardinals showed his good and bad form. He went 6 1/3 scoreless innings vs. Detroit on June 17, giving up six hits with no walks and five strikeouts. He followed that outing by going 5 1/3 innings and allowing seven runs on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts against St. Louis.Ventura is running into much of his troubles early in games. He has a 7.31 ERA in the first two innings but a 4.07 ERA from the third inning on.He will be looking for his first career win over the Mariners, as he is 0-3 with a 4.34 ERA in five starts. Ventura took a 6-0 loss at Seattle on April 30, when he allowed five runs in four-plus innings.The Mariners will counter with Hisashi Iwakuma, who has been improving as the season progresses. Iwakuma (8-6, 4.43 ERA) is 7-2 in his past nine starts. His ERA is still 4.47 in that span, but he has been able to keep his team in games.Iwakuma owns impressive career numbers against Kansas City: 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA four starts, though he hasnt faced the Royals this year. Nike Air Max Motion Canada . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Air Max 90 Womens Canada . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air-max-90-canada-sale/max-90-mens.html . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Air Max 270 Mens Canada . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Nike Air Max Tailwind 7 Canada . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Perth have filled their last visa spot with the signing of Serbian international midfielder Milan Lola Smiljanic for the upcoming A-League season.The 29-year old, who was born in Sweden, comes to the Glory following stints with Belgrade powerhouse FK Partizan, La Liga side Espanyol and, more recently, Israeli outfit Maccabi Netnaya.Smiljanic is the second Serbian player set to wear the Glory jersey this season, joining compatriot Nebo Marinkovic.The pair played together at FK Partizan and also represented their country at U-17 and U-21 level.Smiljanic has represented Serbia six times as senior level, scoring one goal.He is expected to arrive next week in Perth where hell undergo a medical.Meanwhile, the Glory hope it will be a case of no Diego Castro, no worries, when they take on Brisbane in Wednesday nights FFA Cup showdown at Ballymore Stadium.Castro was the star of the A-League last season, winning the Johnny Warren medal as the competitions best player.The 34-year-old Spaniard has re-signed with Glory for the coming season, but he wont arrive in Perth until later in August after being granted extra leave during the pre-season.Glory coach Kenny Lowe has assembled a star-studded squad, with Rhys Williams, Rostyn Griffiths and Adam Taggart among the players who have been added to last seasons roster.Lowe is confident Castro wont have any problems fittting back into the team when he arrives in Perth.ddddddddddddThe foreign boys dont like a 16-week pre-season. Theyre used to the European six-weeker, Lowe joked on Tuesday.Hell be alright. He came last year and adjusted.If I remember rightly, last year you lads were questioning him at the beginning of the season. So, Im sure hell be OK.The Roar will be without Danish import Thomas Kristensen, who will be given more time to improve his fitness.The Glory have reached the past two finals of the FFA Cup, but are yet to land the silverware.Adelaide beat them in the inaugural year of the competition, before Melbourne Victory downed Perth 2-0 in last years decider.Lowe said he would not be using those near misses as inspiration going into the new campaign.Instead, he said it was important for his team to progress as far as they could to boost their pre-season preparations.The Roar have been dogged by financial woes during the off-season, with the Queensland Rugby Union even filing an application to have the A-League club wound up.Lowe knows all too well what its like to go through off-field dramas after dealing with the fallout of Perths 2015 salary cap controversy.He said it was sad seeing Brisbane going through their own turmoil. ' ' '