Twins, Cubs enter series hoping All-Star break didn't cool them off

The Chicago Cubs entered the All-Star break on a red-hot streak.

After a few days off, they will hit the play button and try to pick up from where they paused the action.

The Cubs will welcome the Minnesota Twins to open a three-game interleague series beginning Friday night at Wrigley Field. Chicago was 34-34 on June 10 but finished the final month before the break on a 20-8 run to jump 12 games above .500.

Now comes the more intense part of the season as the Cubs eye a postseason run.

"We're OK with where we're at," outfielder Michael Conforto said. "We're still hungry to play better. ... We feel like we haven't played up to our potential yet."

Chicago sits five games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. The Cubs are counting on a big second half to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

"The way I look at it is we're in such a good place and I feel like we haven't played that well yet," shortstop Dansby Swanson said. "There's been a lot of guys, offensively, underperforming from what they're used to. You could even say that about the pitching side.

"There's so much room for this team to continue to grow and get better and play better, and it'll be a fun second half."

Minnesota will look to spoil the Cubs' fun this weekend.

The Twins also entered the All-Star break on a high note after winning nine of their final 13. They won back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Angels just before the break to climb within one game of .500. Minnesota sits three games back of the American League Central lead and is in the thick of the AL wild-card chase.

That might not seem like a big deal for some teams, but it's great news for Minnesota, which entered the season with low expectations. A strong resumption of the season after the All-Star break could help management decide to be a buyer at the trade deadline instead of trading away veterans as it did a season ago.

For the moment, general manager Jeremy Zoll is watching and waiting.

"There's still a lot of games left to unfold and teams aren't really making those declarations (about who is available) until the last possible minute," Zoll said. "And in turn, you need the full market to develop to be able to have things happen.

"So we're continuing to evaluate things. The team is on a nice run here. ... So we're really excited about that to continue to progress and hopefully have a good showing ... and go from there."

Cubs right-hander Colin Rea (7-5, 4.75 ERA) will take the mound to start the series. He is 5 1/3 innings shy of reaching the 100-inning milestone for the fourth straight year.

In two career starts against Minnesota, Rea is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA.

The Twins will counter with right-hander Bailey Ober (6-3, 4.40), who will make his second start since returning from the injured list. He allowed one run on three hits in five innings of a 5-2 loss against the Cleveland Guardians on July 9.

Ober, who was on the IL with right elbow inflammation and a mild flexor strain, has never faced the Cubs in his career.

--Field Level Media