Are Cubs, White Sox for real? At All-Star Game, division opponents of both teams weighed in

PHILADELPHIA — Miguel Vargas’ second-deck home run in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, crushed to left field while Pete Crow-Armstrong was mic’d up in center for the top of the eighth inning on Fox, was a moment for baseball fans in Chicago to savor.

As was Crow-Armstrong’s base hit pulled through the right side of the infield in the bottom of the same frame, when Vargas, Tristan Peters and Munetaka Murakami all were in the field defensively.

The White Sox and Cubs put their stamps on baseball’s first half with winning records, and now their Midsummer Classic moments are in the books, too, after the American League’s 4-0 win.

It’s time for both teams to move on to more important things.

With the Sox in a virtual tie atop their division and the Cubs in second place in theirs — and both teams prominently positioned in the wild-card picture should it come to that — there will be levels of playoff fever on both sides of town for much, if not all, of the remaining 60-plus regular-season games.

Will both teams get into the playoffs for only the fourth time ever and the first in a non-pandemic season since 2008?

Along the way, how aggressive will each team be leading into the Aug. 3 trade deadline?

This is kind fun, isn’t it?

“I love what we’re doing right now,” Vargas said.

“We’re built to play in the playoffs,” Crow-Armstrong said.

The Sox’ 50-45 record is the third-best in a down AL. They’re tied in the division with the Guardians, three games up on the Twins, 6½ in front of the Tigers and second in the wild-card standings.

The start of the second half could be dangerous for a Sox team that has been insatiable at home (31-17) but toothless on the road (19-28). Twelve of the Sox’ next 19 games are away from Rate Field, while the Guardians have 13 of 20 on home turf. If the Sox can keep up with the Guardians into August, though, they’ll be in a strong enough position that general manager Chris Getz could tip the scales with the right pitching acquisition or two at the deadline.

But who’s the AL Central favorite right now? We asked around at Citizens Bank Park.

“The favorite? I think we are,” said Guardians closer Cade Smith, who leads the majors with 28 saves.

It’s not that the Sox haven’t impressed the Guardians, according to Smith, it’s just that the defending division champs have more to bring to bear over the long haul.

“I think we should be favored because of the way that we play our game, the way that we’ve played our game the last two years, showing the kind of resilience and grit as a group we’re [known for],” he said. “That’s something we put on full display last year and still possess this year.”

Outfielder Riley Greene of the Tigers — who ripped off a 9-1 streak right before the break — begged to differ.

“Who’s the favorite? Us,” he said. “I believe in my team. I believe in my team more than anyone. We’re playing good baseball and just have to keep doing it, and we’ll be there.”

Greene praised the Sox’ level of talent, while Twins manager Derek Shelton through bouquets specifically at Getz, rookie outfielder Sam Antonacci, pitcher Davis Martin and the Sox’ trio of All-Stars. But Shelton dismissed the idea that there even is a favorite.

“If you play [the Sox], it’s very evident that group enjoys being around each other and they play hard,” Shelton said. “But the division couldn’t be more wide open.”

Given all the pitching injuries and hitting slumps they’ve contended with, the Cubs will take their 54-42 record and make no apologies. But it’s a bit of a head trip to ponder the fact they had separate 10-game winning streaks early on, tallied a 15-game home winning streak, were the hottest team in baseball over the last month of the first half at 20-8 and still trail the Brewers — their ever-present tormentors — by five games in the NL Central.

How much, if at all, will the Cubs be able to slice into that deficit before the deadline? The good news is the Cubs begin the second half with 13 of 20 games at Wrigley Field. The bad news is the Brewers open with 16 of 22 at home. Sometimes, the Brewers’ good timing seems simply uncanny.

The Cardinals are 3½ games behind the Cubs, and the Pirates 4½ back. Whom do the Brewers see as the biggest threat to their persistent stronghold?

“I think the Cubs,” catcher William Contreras said. “They got a good team.”

But sensational starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski didn’t go there.

“I mean, the Cubs are one of them, but I don’t think I’d say the biggest,” Misiorowski said. “I don’t think any team is the biggest. I think they’re all pretty equal. The Cardinals and Pirates are right there with them.”

Young Cardinals slugger Jordan Walker, winner of the Home Run Derby, thinks his team, which took a three-game series at Wrigley at the start of the month, is on the verge of a playoff breakthrough.

“I feel that in my gut,” Walker said.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said his team isn’t hunting the Cubs or the Brewers, but he recognizes only one of those teams as the clear class of the division.

“They’re in a really good window to win with the players they have,” Marmol said of the Brewers. “The pitching, the rotation, the bullpen, the whole roster, the way they play the game, the way they’re managed — all of it is in a really good spot and leads to a ton of success.”

Everyone else is just trying to get there.