With many of the Sox’ better prospects now on the major-league roster, showing improvement after the break is important for the next step of their rebuild. They completed their first series sweep of the season with a 7-2 victory Sunday over the Pirates.

Shane Baz is hoping to pick up on his streak of four effective starts before the All-Star break, but still thinks the rest has served him well. Baz’s break consisted of two days off and bringing his dog Gator along for some workouts at Steinbrenner Field.

The Chicago White Sox can do something Monday that they have not achieved in more than a year when they travel to play the Tampa Bay Rays.

PITTSBURGH — Assistant general manager Josh Barfield is still unsure if the White Sox will be active at the July 31 trade deadline. “There’s a lot of teams right now that are teetering on the line of buying or selling,” he said. “As we get closer to the deadline, we’ll have a better idea of just how active we will be.”

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Chicago Cubs rookie Cade Horton Horton left Sunday’s game in the sixth inning with a 1-0 lead, but the Cubs lost 6-1. It was Horton’s fourth no-decision of the season.

The Texas Longhorns have lost another signee to an MLB team. Infielder Kaleb Freeman who joined the Longhorns out of the transfer portal a few weeks ago has signed his first MLB contract, according to FutureSox. The former Georgia State star was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 16th round of the MLB Draft.

The Sox' productive sixth clinched a 10-4 victory against the Pirates for a series win — their first series win after the All-Star break last season came in September. The Sox (34-65) recorded 13 hits on Saturday and have scored 20 runs over a two-game span.