Shota Imanaga tossed seven shutout innings and five players hit solo home runs Saturday, carrying the Chicago Cubs to a 6-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.

With baseball’s best run differential at +119 and a solid series win in the Bronx entering the All-Star break, the Cubs claim the top spot in these rankings for the first time all season after spending much of the first half floating in the top 10.

The Cubs made a lineup switch in their last series before the All-Star break, resulting in Ian Happ moving down in the order. The plan moving forward appears to be that Nico Hoerner will hit leadoff against left-handed starters and Michael Busch will hit leadoff against right-handed starters.

An American League East squad may try to pry away the Chicago Cubs' All-Star away from them during this winter's free agency

Alex Bregman and the Boston Red Sox will face Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs on Friday at Wrigley Field.

The dead sprint to the trade deadline is here, and for the Chicago Cubs, it's no secret what the priority is before July 31 arrives. Heck, president Jed Hoyer has said as much for weeks: This team needs pitching help, both in the rotation and in the bullpen.

The Chicago Cubs wrapped up the first half of the season with a really impressive record and hold a nice lead in the National League Central. Despite the Cubs

With the trade deadline looming, Cubs team president Jed Hoyer was asked about which prospects could be on the move and his answer was quite a short one.