David Ortiz is set to get booed at Yankee Stadium, Chris Sale is ready to resume striking out Kris Bryant and the Kansas City Royals are facing a rugged road back to the playoffs.Now that the All-Star fun is finished, a look at whats on deck as Major League Baseball makes the turn and heads home toward October:---PENNANT PUSH: All eyes will be on Joe Maddon and his Cubs as they chase their first World Series crown since 1908. Theyre in prime position so far -- Jake Arrieta, Bryant and Co. hold the biggest lead at the break, up seven games over St. Louis in the NL Central.The Cubs have never won a title while at Wrigley Field. All those past failures? Thats something we dont really discuss very often, Arrieta said.Only one division race closer than five games: The AL East, with Baltimore up two on Boston and Toronto. Ortiz got a lot of love this week, but what Big Papi really wants is one more swing in the postseason. The Red Sox begin the second half Friday night in the steamy Bronx.Quite a scramble is shaping up for wild-card spots -- 18 teams are within five games of the slots. World Series MVP Salvador Perez, All-Star Game MVP Eric Hosmer and the defending champ Royals are hovering at 45-43.DEAL OR NO DEAL: Will Aroldis Chapman soon be closing somewhere else? Can Jonathan Lucroy catch on with a contender? How about Carlos Gonzalez? Could Drew Pomeranz or Jake Odorizzi be starting a new chapter?Plenty to track before the Aug. 1 deadline to make trades without waivers. Last year, a lot of big names moved in the final week -- Yoenis Cespedes, Johnny Cueto and Troy Tulowitzki, among them.This year, several elite teams need bullpen help. The Yankees have two of the top targets in Chapman and Andrew Miller. A few more wins might quiet all the trade noise, Miller said.We can shut down those rumors, and I think thats the goal. Thats what need to do. Thats what we should do, the lefty said.HEAL OR NO HEAL: Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Craig Kimbrel come out of the break on the disabled list, as do Felix Hernandez, Michael Brantley and several Texas pitchers.How fast the likes of Jordan Zimmermann, Wade Davis, Matt Carpenter and others can effectively come back might determine how far their teams go.The defending NL champion Mets had already lost captain David Wright and former ace Matt Harvey for the season and power-hitting Lucas Duda for a long time when slugger Yoenis Cespedes and hard-throwing Noah Syndergaard recently got hurt in the same game.I dont want it to sound like woe is me, Mets manager Terry Collins said, but woe is us.STEP IT UP!: Andrew McCutchen, Prince Fielder and Giancarlo Stanton are among several stars who slumped through the first half. Jose Bautista, Jason Heyward and Dallas Keuchel also have been shaky.All over the majors, All-Stars who havent performed that way get 2 1/2 months to return to form.A big second half by Justin Upton could propel Detroit in the playoff chase, same for Yordano Ventura in KC and Adam Wainwright in St. Louis.FLY, BALL, FLY: Giancarlo Stanton is done putting dents in the Western Metal Supply Co. building at Petco Park. Time now for mere mortals to swing away.Home runs are at a point that rivals the peak of the Steroids Era, but Commissioner Rob Manfred isnt worried that PEDs are juicing performances.The increase takes place against the backdrop where Major League Baseball does 22,000 drug tests a year, he said.The ball tends to travel when temperatures heat up -- former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel used to call this hittin season.It always goes back and forth, and you never know when its going to kind of take the swing the other way, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters said.DATES TO WATCH: Coming up, Ken Griffey Jr. (in a Mariners cap, not a backward lid) and Mike Piazza (Mets hat) step to the Cooperstown podium for their Hall of Fame induction speeches on July 24.Later, the Atlanta Braves play for the last time at 20-year-old Turner Field (Oct. 2 vs. Detroit) before moving to a suburban ballpark.Also in range: Ichiro Suzuki needs 10 hits to reach 3,000 in the majors and Alex Rodriguez is five home runs shy of No. 700. Custom Boston Celtics Jerseys .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Custom Dallas Stars Jerseys . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com/custom-san-antonio-spurs-jerseys/ . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. Custom San Francisco Giants Jerseys . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Fake Custom Jerseys . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. Linebacker Baron Browning, the No. 29-ranked prospect in the ESPN 300, committed to Ohio State?on Thursday.Browning chose the Buckeyes over the likes of Alabama, Florida State, UCLA, TCU?and Michigan.?The No. 2-ranked outside linebacker (Kennedale High; Kennedale, Texas) took his official visit to Ohio State for its game against Michigan last Saturday. He was supposed to announce his commitment on Tuesday, but decided to push back the decision after the trip to Columbus. He then received an in-home visit from Ohio State coaches Urban Meyer, Greg Schiano, Luke Fickell and Tim Beck on Wednesday.dddddddddddd.That in-home visit helped seal the deal for Browning and gave the Buckeyes 15 ESPN 300 commitments in the No. 2-ranked class overall. His commitment came only a day after the staff lost a commitment from ESPN 300 linebacker Antjuan Simmons, who recently took a visit to Michigan State.Browning makes 16 total commitments for Ohio State in a class that could push back up to No. 1 if a few more big pieces jump on board. ' ' '