MLB Standings 2015: San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers Fighting For NL West Division

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: May 22, 2015 02:47 PM EDT

One of the best rivalries in sports history just keeps getting better.

The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are each fighting over the National League West division. This comes as no surprise considering either the Dodgers or Giants have won this division six of the last seven seasons.

The Dodgers currently lead the NL West with a 24-16 record. Much of this is thanks to Adrian Gonzalez, who has a team-leading 50 hits and a .345 batting average. As an offense, the Dodgers have scored the sixth most runs in all of Major League Baseball. Joc Pederson leads the Dodgers with 10 home runs this season.

Although the Dodgers are presently in first place, not all is well. The Dodgers were recently swept by the Giants in a three-game series and are now 2-7 against the Giants this season. Not only did the Dodgers lose all three games to the Giants in the series, but they failed to score a single run. This was the first time the Giants shutout the Dodgers in a three-game series since 1958, the first year the Dodgers and Giants moved from Brooklyn and Manhattan to the West coast.

Another issue for the Dodgers has been Clayton Kershaw. The three time CY Young award winner hasn't exactly been himself. Last season Kershaw posted a 21-3 record on the mound with a league leading 1.77 earned runs against average. This season, however, Kershaw has a 2-3 record with a 4.32 ERA. Kershaw allowed a homerun to Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner in the last game. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Zack Greinke has been playing fantastic, and the team ranks fifth overall in ERA.

The Dodgers will take on the San Diego Padres in their next series.

As for the second place Giants, they're on a roll. The Giants have won six games in a row and eight of their last 10 to give them a 23-18 record overall. The Giants aren't in first place, but they know how to beat the dodgers.

Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum and Santiago Casilla lead the sixth rated pitching staff in all of baseball. The Giants lead the league with eight shutouts this year. Not having Pablo Sandoval on the team feels different, and the offense has struggled without. The Giants offense ranks 23rd in total scoring this year with not a single batter having scored more than 20 runs. Puerto Rican outfielder Angel Pagan leads the Giants in hits, triples and a .325 batting average.

The Giants are the defending champions having defeated the Kansas City Royals in last year's World Series. They will play the Colorado Rockies in their next series beginning Friday night.

The Dodgers and Giants are the only two teams in the NL West that even have a winning record at the moment. The Rockies have been a mess, and trade rumors have been swirling with Troy Tulowitzki. The Padres pitching staff ranks 25th in the league, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are trying to recover from a terrible start to the season. As expected this division will most likely come down to either the Dodgers or Giants winning it all again.