At midway point, Dodgers putting together a strong run

Last night's 6-2 win over the Angels came on the 81st game of the season, the official halfway point of the 162-game slog that is major league baseball.

The All-Star break comes next weekend but before the festivities in Miami the Dodgers play three in San  Diego starting tonight followed by three-game sets at home against Arizona and Kansas City.

Halfway through the 2017 campaign, the Dodgers are in first place by 2.5 games over Arizona and have moved six games ahead of the Rockies.

Clayton Kershaw is 12-2 with a 2.32 ERA. Barring injury, he will win 20 games this year. Lefty Alex Wood is 8-0 with a 1.86 ERA going into tonight's game against the Padres. Brandon McCarthy (6-3), Kenta Maeda (6-3), Rich Hill (4-4) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-6) round out a good pitching staff, but not better than Washington where the Nats roll out Steven Strasburg (9-2), Max Scherzer (9-5) and Geo Gonzalez (7-2).

Offensively, the Dodgers are sparked by rookie Cody Bellinger (.268, 24 HR, 56 RBI), third-sacker Justin Turner (.381, 5 HR, 28 RBI), shortstop Corey Seager (.294, 12 HR, 39 RBI), right fielder Yasiel Puig (.251, 15 HR. 42 RBI) and catcher Yasmani Grandal (.264, 10 HR, 30 RBI).

The Dodgers hit a club-record 50 homers in June with tonight's game still in play.

Bellinger has been a revelation and is a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year. Turner, who missed a stint with an injury, will lead the majors in hitting when he qualifies for number of at-bats.

The Dodgers are probably strongest in their depth, where role players Joc Pederson, Chris Taylor, Kike Hernandez, Chase Utley, Logan Forsythe and Franklin Gutierrez are all capable of taking the spotlight on a given night.

Taylor and Hernandez play regularly and are versatile enough to play multiple positions. Taylor (.273, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 10 SB) and Hernandez (.230, 8 HR, 25 RBI) give Dave Roberts options when trying to create favorable matchups.

Pederson has heated up since coming off the DL after an outfield collision with Puig and has 8 HR and 24 RBI while playing centerfield.

Then there's the pen, anchored by Kenley Jansen (4-0, 0.79 ERA, 18 out of 18 saves). Pedro Baez (1.32 ERA), Grant Dayton (3.48 ERA), Luis Avilan (3.86 ERA), Sergio Romo (5.70 ERA), Chris Hatcher (4.66 ERA) and newcomer Brandon Morrow (0.00 ERA) have contributed to a team ERA of 3.23, tops in the majors.

Despite having long-time stalwarts Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier on the shelf with injuries, the Dodgers figure to play well into October.

With the Rockies starting to fade, it looks like the NL West is going to turn into a two-team race between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks.