How did the Dodgers (60-32) build a 13 1/2-game division lead before the All-Star break? By having a record-breaking National League Most Valuable Player Award candidate in Cody Bellinger, a legit slugger like Max Muncy in the lineup to protect him and the franchise’s best starting rotation in maybe more than half a century.

Bellinger, Muncy and starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler give the Dodgers five representatives on the NL team for the 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, not counting manager Dave Roberts and his coaching staff. Joc Pederson took part in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby.

Bellinger already has 30 home runs, a franchise record before the All-Star break and the fourth-most before the break for any player age 23 or younger. He was the leading vote-getter in fan primary balloting.

“The script is still being written,” Roberts said of Bellinger’s record-breaking season. “How far he’s come, how fast, responding to big moments and making people around him better, focusing on the little things as far as preparation. He’s checking all the boxes.”

This is Bellinger’s second All-Star Game, having also made it in his 2017 season, when he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award. He did not make the Midsummer Classic in '18.

“After struggling last season, I’m enjoying this one more,” Bellinger said during Monday’s media session. “Soaking it all in, just happy to be here. My first year, I also was prepping for the Home Run Derby, I was anxious. Today, just relaxed.”

This is the first All-Star Game for Muncy, named this week as a replacement for the injured Anthony Rendon. Muncy was picked for his 22 homers and 60 RBIs in 89 games, continuing the breakthrough season he posted last year, which he began in the Minor Leagues and finished by leading the Dodgers with 35 home runs.

Muncy’s teammates lobbied vocally after viewing his initial omission as a snub. A year ago, he participated in the Home Run Derby, but during Monday’s media session, he said he was proud of his difficult journey here.

“Last year, we felt it was so hectic, didn’t feel like a full part of it,” said Muncy. “I was talking to my wife and this year is more enjoyable. [I'm] able to step back and relax and look at the big picture and realize how far we came and how amazing it is. As proud as I am, I don’t want to get complacent. But I’m proud of just finding the love for the game again. When you’re out of baseball, I wasn’t having fun, I didn’t like it, didn’t want any part of it. Now it’s back like I’m a kid again. [I] can’t wait to get back to the field again. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

On the mound, this year’s Dodgers pitching representatives are robust, even for an organization with pitching in its DNA. Ryu will start his first MLB All-Star Game, and he’s joined by Kershaw (his eighth appearance) and Buehler (his first), the first time the Dodgers have had three starting pitchers in the Midsummer Classic since 1962, and that year has an asterisk.

Two All-Star Games were played in 1962, with Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale in the first game and 1955 World Series hero Johnny Podres in the second. Prior to that, Don Newcombe, Ralph Branca and Preacher Roe were All-Stars in 1949.

Historical comparisons are up for debate, but Kershaw summed up the current significance of the Dodgers having three of the original nine starters on the NL staff.

"It means that we've had a good run," Kershaw said. "It means that we're on a good team, and it means that we get to go to Cleveland together, so it'll be fun."

"It just shows how deep we are and what kind of team we are," Buehler said. "With Rich [Hill] out, and Kenta [Maeda] is throwing the ball well, too. So we've had five guys that have been throwing the ball really good, including Ross Stripling and Julio Urías. Everybody who takes the mound for us has been really good."

Kershaw, a three-time NL Cy Young Award winner, has a 3.09 ERA and 1.051 WHIP in 15 starts this year, continuing his transformation as a pitcher incorporating more sliders and better sequencing to compensate for less fastball velocity. And he's doing it after a Spring Training left shoulder injury that even left him with doubts about his future.

"[The All-Star Games] all mean a lot, but I think from where I was in Spring Training to where I am now, I don't know if I necessarily thought I'd get to go," Kershaw said. "So, in that sense, it's maybe a little bit more rewarding, especially after not getting to go last year."

The All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.