NEW YORK — The Cubs entered the All-Star break coming off a series victory at Yankee Stadium.
With a 4-1 triumph Sunday against the Yankees, the Cubs improved their record to 57-39, the second-best mark in the National League to the Dodgers’ 58-39. The NL Central race remains tight, with the Brewers trailing the Cubs by one game.
‘‘Just really a good way to finish it,’’ shortstop Dansby Swanson said after the game. ‘‘[After] dropping the series in Minnesota and then the first game [Friday against the Yankees] kind of getting out of hand, to be able to come back and win two games against a really good team, it’s a great way to finish, setting us up for, hopefully, a great second half.’’
Before sending three players to Atlanta for All-Star festivities — outfielders Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker are set to start for the NL, and left-hander Matthew Boyd is attending but won’t be active for the game — the Cubs authored an all-around strong performance.
Swanson and Michael Busch, leading off for the first time in the majors, powered the offense with a home run apiece. Crow-Armstrong’s hustle and Seiya Suzuki’s baserunning pushed across another run.
Left-hander Shota Imanaga limited the Yankees to one run, on a homer by Giancalo Stanton to lead off the second inning, and two hits through seven innings.
‘‘Matt Boyd was masterful [Saturday], Shota was masterful [Sunday],’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘It was just wonderful pitching and high, high level of execution.’’
Relievers Drew Pomeranz and Daniel Palencia combined to retire six consecutive batters to finish the game.
The Cubs have the best run differential in the majors (plus-119), outscoring opponents by eight runs more than the Yankees, who are second in that category.
‘‘There’s both sides of the coin, right?’’ Swanson said. ‘‘There’s the offense that’s had such a good first half but also the pitching and defense. Our staff has been awesome. The bullpen has been unbelievable. We’ve been able to convert outs into outs, which is such a big deal, not giving teams second chances. And so it’s just really led to such a great first half for us.
‘‘And it’ll be important for us to continue to stay with that in order to go to the places that we want to go to.’’
Draft news
The Cubs selected Wake Forest outfielder Ethan Conrad with their first-round pick (No. 17 overall) in the MLB Draft. He was the first non-pitcher or shortstop taken.
Conrad, a left-handed hitter, was batting .372 with a 1.238 OPS through 21 games this past season before shoulder surgery ended his campaign in April. He transferred to Wake Forest for his junior season from Marist, where in 2024 he set an NCAA Division I record with four triples in a game.
The Cubs chose North Carolina outfielder Kane Kepley with their second-round pick (No. 56 overall) and Abilene Christian right-hander Dominick Reid with their third-round pick (No. 90 overall).
The fourth through 20th rounds will take place Monday.
Lining up their pitching
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Cubs plan to start right-hander Colin Rea on Friday and Imanaga on Saturday against the Red Sox at Wrigley Field.
To give Boyd — who already has pitched more innings this season than in any of his last five — some extra rest, the Cubs have him penciled in for the series July 21-23 against the Royals.