BOX SCORE

It had been over a month since the Chicago Cubs won a series on the road.

And with the surging Milwaukee Brewers hot on their heels, the Cubs certainly wanted to end the unofficial first half of the season on a high note.

They did exactly that, thanks to the efforts of ace Shota Imanaga.

Imanaga tossed seven strong innings, Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson homered and the Cubs strong-armed their way to a 4-1 victory over the Yankees.

After losing in blowout fashion in the series opener Friday night, the Cubs showed their mettle by bouncing back with a pair of strong performances to close the series.

The Cubs claimed their first series victory on the road since June 3-5 in Washington.

It’s a good thing too, as the Brewers have won six straight entering play Sunday, pulling to within a game of the Cubs in the NL Central.

No matter the outcome of the Cubs’ contest in New York on Sunday, they would have entered the All-Star Break in at least a tie for first place. But there is certainly something to be said of heading into the four-day layoff with sole possession of the top spot.

The Cubs can now settle in, enjoy watching Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker in the All-Star Game and then get back after it against the Boston Red Sox at home beginning Friday.

Here are three things we learned from a big win in the Bronx:

Immediate dividends

The Cubs’ leadoff spot has been a hot topic of late, as manager Craig Counsell opted to change things up during the weekend series in New York. Ian Happ had been the team’s everyday leadoff man all season before a trip to Yankee Stadium.

In the first two games against the Yankees, Counsell rolled with second baseman Nico Hoerner in the leadoff spot against a pair of left-handed starting pitchers.

Then on Sunday with a righty on the mound for the Yankees, Counsell tabbed Busch as the team’s new leadoff hitter.

Busch sent the second pitch of the game into the right-center field bleachers and gave the Cubs an instant boost.

It was Busch’s 19th home run of the season and his 59th run driven in.

He is now hitting .290/.375/.550 (.925 OPS) on the season and represents one of the biggest All-Star snubs in the game.

It will bear watching in the second half how Counsell deploys the lineup. In the first half, Happ started 84 of the team’s 96 games in the leadoff spot.

The Cubs skipper has already said Hoerner will get more starts in the leadoff spot against lefties. Given Busch’s success against righties, maybe this turns into a regular platoon atop the Cubs order.

The question becomes: Is this just a temporary move given Happ’s recent struggles (he entered play Sunday with an .098 AVG and .338 OPS over his last 13 games)?

Counsell said before Saturday’s game it was a “semi-permanent” decision, but also admitted lineup construction is never truly set in stone.

It would make sense to have Busch hit leadoff against righties. That would position the Cubs’ four best hitters (Busch, Tucker, Seiya Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong) as the four players getting the most at-bats on a given night.

Dansby’s redemption

Much has been made recently of Dansby Swanson’s struggles with runners in scoring position.

The veteran shortstop entered play Sunday hitting just .151 in such situations and came up with a key situation in the fourth inning with runners on first and second. He hit a hard line drive — at 104.3 mph — but it hung up for Aaron Judge to make a running catch in right field.

In his next opportunity, Swanson came through — in a big way.

After a Carson Kelly leadoff double, Ian Happ grounded out to move the Cubs catcher to third base.

Up stepped Swanson … and out went the baseball.

Swanson’s overall numbers are in line with his career marks, but if he can cash in on more opportunities with runners in scoring position in the second half, that will be a boon to an already stacked Cubs lineup.

Sho Time

You may as well just pencil in a “Sho Time” takeaway from us every time Imanaga pitches.

The southpaw did it again Sunday, twirling a gem for the Cubs. He allowed just one run on two hits and a walk over seven innings while striking out six Yankees. The only blemish was a home run by Giancarlo Stanton in the second inning.

Imanaga has seen solid results overall since returning from the IL in late June, but he has racked up only eight strikeouts in 16.1 innings entering his start against the Yankees. The whiffs Sunday were a welcome sight for the Cubs — especially considering all-world superstar Judge was a strikeout victim twice.

Matthew Boyd has done a really nice job stepping in as the stabilizer for the team and the de facto ace of the Cubs rotation this year while Justin Steele and Imanaga have been injured.

[Why Matthew Boyd won’t pitch in the All-Star Game]

But now that Imanaga is doing his best John Wick impression, there might be a conversation to be had whether Boyd or Imanaga is the current ace of this staff.

That’s a good problem to have for the Cubs as they prepare for what is shaping up to be a tense playoff race down the stretch.

The Cubs will head into the All-Star break with a 57-39 record and the best run differential (+119) in MLB.