Dodgers rattle Rocks with three-game sweep

Coming into this weekend's series against Colorado, the Dodgers held a 1.5 game edge in the National League West where the Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Dodgers have been jockeying for first place with the Rocks holding the edge for most of the season.

Three games later, the Dodgers have swept the Rockies, hold a 2.5 game lead over Arizona and are 4.5 games on top of third-place Colorado. The Dodgers have the best record in the National League and second-best record in the major leagues after Houston in the AL West.

Here's my takeaways from the weekend:

• Though still June, this series had to dent the psyche of the Rockies, who were exposed in 6-1, 4-0 and 12-6 losses. Especially tough to swallow was tonight's loss, which Colorado led 5-0 before imploding on wild pitches that led to five runs and home runs by Cody Bellinger (2) and Kike Hernandez.
• The Dodgers have won 10 in row, 16 out of the last 17 and have completed three consecutive sweeps. They are hotter than a Las Vegas parking lot at high noon.
• Though Bellinger has emerged as a rising star with 24 homers, the Dodgers march to first place has been fueled by stellar pitching from Clayton Kershaw (11-2), Alex Wood (8-0), Brandon McCarthy (6-3),  Rich Hill (4-3) and a solid bullpen anchored by Kenley Jansen (18 saves).
• Role players like Chris Taylor, Kike Hernandez, Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson, Austin Barnes and Logan Forsythe have made huge contributions, giving the Dodgers pop from the one through eight slots in the batting order. Case in point is Puig, who often bats seventh or eighth in the batting order. He has 14 home runs and 41 RBI.

There is still a lot of baseball to play this season. However, for now, the Dodgers are the hottest team in the majors.