| Good morning, Chicago — and welcome to the MLB All-Star break. The White Sox head into baseball’s unofficial halfway point tied atop the AL Central and would have the No. 2 seed in the AL, with a bye into the AL Division Series, if the
playoffs started today. The thought of the White Sox playing in October, after losing 324 games over the last three seasons, doesn’t seem impossible. The sweep of the Athletics was an exclamation point on a strong first half for the resurgent White Sox, who outscored the A’s 26-2 over the weekend set. “It’s ours for the taking,” left fielder Sam Antonacci said. “We just have to get it. It’s not going to be easy. There’s going to be ups and downs, but you got to go get it.” White Sox third baseman Colson Montgomery follows through on a throw to first base in the sixth
inning against the Athletics at Rate Field on July 11, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) As for the Cubs, Alex Bregman described their first half as a time of "some high highs and some low lows," which sounds about right. It was highlighted by a pair of 10-game win streaks, an MVP-caliber performance by Pete Crow-Armstrong, the emergence of Ben Brown as a primetime starter and the continued defensive excellence that has been the team's hallmark under manager Craig Counsell. Ten walkoff wins, a 23-run outburst featuring eight home runs and a PCA cycle were all binge-worthy moments. The low points included the devastating loss of Cade Horton, the nonstop march of pitching injuries, the 10-game losing streak, a prolonged offensive slump by Dansby Swanson and an early power outage by Bregman, the team's biggest offseason acquisition. Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History | 
