Time to close gap

Dodgers, Astros running away from rest

The Washington Nationals have Bryce Harper anchoring one of baseball’s best lineups and a glaring hole at the back of their bullpen.

The Boston Red Sox are enjoying life with Chris Sale and missing David Ortiz at times.

The Chicago Cubs are searching for answers for their pesky championship hangover.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros are currently looking down at the rest of teams now, and it’s quite a gap.

With the All-Star Game in the rearview mirror and the trade deadline inching closer, the World Series favorites are as clear as the beautiful blue waters of Miami that hosted baseball’s best players earlier this week. The Dodgers and

Astros are each on pace to win 100-plus games, something that hasn’t happened for two teams in a single season since the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees did it in 2004.

“I don’t think there’s one key, but I think that’s probably why we’re doing so well — is that there’s not one specific thing you can hone in on as to why we’re playing so well,” Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw said.

Los Angeles leads the majors with a 61-29 record, one game better than Houston and 7½ ahead of second-place Arizona in the NL West. The Dodgers’ plus-163 run differential is the best ever for a National League team at the All-Star break, according to STATS LLC.

Kershaw has been, well, Kershaw, and Kenley Jansen remains one of the majors’ best closers. But rookie Cody Bellinger has provided an unexpected lift with 25 home runs, and left-hander Alex Wood is 10-0 with a 1.67 ERA.

“Every night it’s somebody different, and that’s a sign of a good team,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said. “It seems like I say depth every single night, but that’s probably been the biggest reason for our success.”

The Astros are feeling pretty good, too. Led by AllStars Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve and George Springer, they top the majors in runs, hits, home runs, RBI and batting average. Perhaps most importantly, they also have a whopping 16½-game lead in the AL West, allowing them to go slowly with Dallas Keuchel (Arkansas Razorbacks) after the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner was shelved by a neck injury.

“You don’t think you’re going to play that well but you don’t think you’re going to play badly either,” Springer said. “I’ll take it.”

A year ago, the Cubs were in the same position as the Dodgers and Astros, on top of the game heading into the second half of the season. They went on to their first World Series championship since 1908, but their title defense has been one bumpy ride so far.

Hampered by injuries and inconsistency, the Cubs are under .500 and trail surprising Milwaukee by 5½ games in the NL Central. The Cleveland Indians, who lost to Chicago in the World Series, have experienced some of the same problems, but they are in position for another October run at the top of the AL Central.

“We definitely believe in ourselves as a team. We know what we have here, what we’re capable of,” Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist said. “Just got to execute better in the second half and really turn on the burners.”

The Cubs got a headstart on the trade front Thursday, acquiring left-handed starter Jose Quintana from the White Sox for top prospects in outfielder Eloy Jimenez and right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease along with two minor league infielders.

The Brewers, Rockies and Yankees also could be on the lookout for rotation help. With Quintana off the market, teams could look at Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray and Tigers star Justin Verlander for help in closing the gap on the Dodgers and Astros.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of guys going down,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. “We’ll get a couple guys back so I’m looking forward to the second half.”

Washington needs another arm or two for its bullpen, and Boston could look for a power-hitting third baseman before the deadline. While Ortiz seems to be enjoying his retirement, the AL East-leading Red Sox have an AL-low 92 home runs at the break. The Nationals bashed their way to a big lead in the NL East, but they have 14 blown saves and a major league-worst 5.20 bullpen ERA.

AP/TONY DEJAK Pitcher Clayton Kershaw heads into the second half of the season with a National League-leading 14 victories for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who own the best record in the majors at 61-29 and have won six in a row and 19 of their past 22.

AP/TONY GUTIERREZ Former Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher Dallas Keuchel is hoping to return to the mound soon for Houston after missing several starts before the All-Star break because of a pinched nerve in his neck.

AP/PAUL SANCYA Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander could be on the move to a contender, like the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Houston Astros, before the July 31 trade deadline.