The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox begin the second half with high hopes and a shared history of curse-breaking executives, including Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer.

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Erick Fedde (3-8, 4.56 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 57 strikeouts); Cubs: Matthew Boyd (8-3, 2.65 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 87 strikeouts)

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.

Chicago Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd was named to the NL All-Star team, then threw five shutout innings with nine strikeouts vs. the St. Louis Cardinals.

The final game of the Cubs’ holiday-weekend series with the rival Cardinals began in a delay. “Due to weather in the area, we expect the start of tonight’s game to be delayed,” read a message on the Wrigley Field video boards.

Here are our takeaways from the Cubs' 11-0 win over the Cardinals on Sunday night, where the Cubs also won the series.

The St. Louis Cardinals got their first win in the month of July against the Chicago Cubs, and they're looking to make it two in a row. The other thing they're looking for is if Nolan Arenado will be on the field after he missed the previous game with a right shoulder impingement.

Cubs take series and open up a 6½-game lead with a thunderous shutout, the Cardinals’ fourth shutout loss in their past six games.

The entire middle of the order is deserving of playing in the All-Star Game, meaning the Cubs are in a great place as we approach the break.

Our Cardinals vs. Cubs predictions see Chicago cruising to victory over St. Louis behind the arm of Matthew Boyd and the bat of Kyle Tucker on Sunday, July 6.