Mookie makes history; Dodgers slug 7 HRs

Almost nothing anywhere this year has gone as expected, except for one thing halfway through the MLB season: The Dodgers are really good.

Even with the upheaval of a pandemic, the Dodgers have met the high expectations of a loaded roster by achieving a 22-8 record (.733) at the midpoint with a series-sweep punishment of the Rockies on Sunday, blasting seven home runs in an 11-3 rout as Dodger Stadium played like Coors Field.

• Box score

Kiké Hernández’s three-run blast in the fourth inning broke a tie after four solo shots -- Corey Seager and Mookie Betts for the Dodgers, Trevor Story and Ryan McMahon for Colorado. Cody Bellinger, Will Smith, Max Muncy and Betts a second time participated in the home run derby.

The Dodgers overcame another short start by Ross Stripling (four innings) to win their 11th in the last 12 and pad their best record in baseball while pouring it on the Rockies, whose losing streak reached seven. The Dodgers have beaten Colorado in 23 of their last 27 meetings overall and 16 of their last 17 in Los Angeles.

“We’re trying to run away with this division. That’s step No. 1 to the main goal,” said Hernández, who paid tribute to the 42nd birthday of the late Kobe Bryant with a three-point shot motion at the end of his home run trot.

The Dodgers won a franchise-record 106 games last year, then added Betts, who became the first Dodger to hit two homers and steal two bases in the same game.

“He’s unbelievable,” Hernández said of Betts. “He’s one of those guys we didn’t get the opportunity to watch too often in a different league. Now you get to see him on a daily basis and you know what all the Mookie Betts hype is all about. There’s really not anything he can’t do. It’s pretty special and we’re pretty fortunate to watch him on a daily basis.”

Project their current record over a 162-game season and the Dodgers are playing at a 119-win pace. Offensively, they lead the Majors in home runs and runs scored. The team and bullpen ERAs are lowest in MLB. They call up players from the alternate training site like Tony Gonsolin, they perform like stars, then send them back because they have too many good players.

“Coming out of Summer Camp, we were really prepared and really focused, but you never know how that will play out as far as wins and losses,” said manager Dave Roberts. “But I really felt good about our players and our preparation. Good to see us playing good baseball.”

• Justin Turner sits with hamstring discomfort

Now, if you are looking for soft spots, the starting pitching -- with the departures of Hyun-Jin Ryu, Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill, and no David Price -- hasn’t been as dominant as hoped. Stripling’s slump continued on Sunday, but the Dodgers have Gonsolin on standby. And with the Trade Deadline barely a week away, the Dodgers already are rumored to be interested in Texas veteran Lance Lynn.

“I’m still taking way too much damage on fastballs,” said Stripling.

“It’s a location problem,” said Roberts.

Otherwise, it doesn’t look like they need much. The lineup is so deep that three of Sunday’s home runs came from spots six through nine in the order. They lead MLB in run production from the bottom of the lineup.

“I don’t think there’s a better one through five in baseball, so when you’ve got to grind through that one through five, maybe you tend to forget about the guys at the bottom,” said Hernández. “We just keep passing the baton and today, the baton just happened to be the homer baton.”