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MLB All-Star break: 10 biggest storylines of 2017

By Joshua Sadlock

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 05: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees in action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on July 5, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Blue Jays defeated the Yankees 7-6. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 05: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees in action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on July 5, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Blue Jays defeated the Yankees 7-6. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 06: Chris Taylor #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his game winning hit with Justin Turner #10, Enrique Hernandez #14, Clayton Kershaw #22, Yasmani Grandal #9 and Yasiel Puig #66 as Chris Owings #16 of the Arizona Diamondbacks leaves the field during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 6, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers won 5-4. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 06: Chris Taylor #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his game winning hit with Justin Turner #10, Enrique Hernandez #14, Clayton Kershaw #22, Yasmani Grandal #9 and Yasiel Puig #66 as Chris Owings #16 of the Arizona Diamondbacks leaves the field during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 6, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers won 5-4. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

5. Dodgers and Astros dominance

For the first time in MLB history, two teams enter the All-Star break with at least 60 wins. The Houston Astros are 60-29, while the Los Angeles Dodgers are 61-29. Houston has trampled all over the American League for the entire season. The Dodgers, on the other hand, actually got off to a slow start. They were 14-13 on the first day of May, but have gone 47-16 since.

Houston has the best lineup in baseball. The ‘Stros have been embarrassing pitchers the entire year and have already scored 527 runs while giving up only 365. They are on pace to score over 950 runs this year. Houston leads the American League in every relevant offensive category, including avoiding the strikeout. Astros hitters have struck out only 602 times on the year, which is incredible considering their power output.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, have run out to 61 wins thanks to dominating starting pitching. Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood are a combined 24-2 with a sub-2.00 ERA. Los Angeles has a team ERA of 3.15, which leads MLB by nearly half a run. Besides the dominant performances of Kershaw and Wood in the rotation, Kenley Jansen struck out over 50 batters before giving up his first walk, Cody Bellinger has been the NL’s version of Aaron Judge and Justin Turner is having a career year and batting close to .380.

The Astros are getting it done with a dominant offense, while the Dodgers are getting it done with elite starting pitching, timely hitting and a dominant closer. If these teams are able to navigate the playoffs and meet in the World Series, it could be a battle for the ages.

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