One of the greatest rivalries in sports history is reaching its climax.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants are vigorously fighting for first place in the National League West. These two teams have won this division five of the last six years (the 2011 Arizona Diamondbacks being the only exception), so neither are strangers when it comes to success. Their 13 combined World Series titles go all the way back to when the franchises dueled in New York City.

This season, they find themselves separated by just one game with less than three weeks remaining in the 2014 Major League Baseball season.

The Dodgers lead the division at 83-64. This team has led the NL West for nearly the entire season, and are tied with the Washington Nationals for the best record in the National League. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, they are 6-8 this season against their rival Giants and they recently lost 0-9 to them. The Dodgers and Giants are in the middle of a three-game series in San Francisco. There will be another three game series played between these teams beginning Sep. 22 in Los Angeles.

First baseman Adrian Gonzales leads the Dodgers with 23 home runs and 102 runs batted in. Dee Gordon is having a productive season with a team leading 159 hits, 20 doubles and 12 triples. The Dodgers bats have done their job, but pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been the man this season. Kershaw has a terrific 18-3 record thus far, and an eye-popping 1.67 earned runs against average. There's no doubt who is this year's NL CY Young Award winner. Only time will tell if Kershaw is up for challenge come playoff time.

The Dodgers haven't won the World Series since 1988, but this year could be a memorable one.

The San Francisco Giants just keep hanging around. Winner of two of the last four World Series championships, this team is built for the postseason. The Giants are currently 82-65, just one win behind the Dodgers, but they have the momentum. The Giants are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have a great opportunity to take the division lead at home in this series.

The combination of Buster Posey and Hunter Pence has been lethal at the plate. The two stars have a combined 332 hits, 39 home runs and 171 runs scored this season. Posey is batting .310 at the plate this year as well. Although the Dodgers rank higher in runs scored and team pitching, the Giants are right there competing.

Pitcher Tim Lincecum isn't having his best season, but Madison Bumgarner has been the ace this season for the Dodgers. Bumgarner has as many wins this season as Kershaw (18) and his ERA is 2.91. The Giants must take advantage of this three game home series, because the Dodgers will host the Giants three more times at Dodgers Stadium in late September.

Both the Giants and Dodgers will most likely make the playoffs, but the No. 1 seed and the division title is at stake. Since the wild card round was expanded in 1994, the Giants and Dodgers have never played one another. In fact, these teams haven't played in the postseason since the 1889 World Series.

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