The first two times Clayton Kershaw opposed Madison Bumgarner, it was too early to gauge whether it would be the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Francisco Giants winning the National League West.The left-handed aces opposed each other twice in a span of six days in the first two weeks of the season with the Dodgers winning both meetings. Kershaw went 1-0 with a 2.40 ERA in those games and Bumgarner was 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA.Fast forward six months later, it is Kershaws Dodgers who are in first place over Bumgarners Giants, and the two stars will be on the mound in the opener of a three-game series on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.It will be the 10th regular-season matchup between Kershaw and Bumgarner, who made their major league debuts 15 1/2 months apart in 2008 and 2009. Kershaw has gone 3-4 with a 2.18 ERA and Bumgarner is 4-3 with a 2.88 ERA in those games.Kershaw will be making his third start since returning from a back injury. When he pitched five innings in Wednesdays 2-0 victory at Yankee Stadium, it could not have pleased him and the Dodgers any more.The three-time Cy Young award winner pitched around two rain delays, threw 64 pitches and about 16 more in a simulated game. He retired the first 12 hitters and ended his outing by striking out Yankees catcher Austin Romine with two on in a scoreless game.We felt comfortable with that delay to go back out there for the fifth. I think that just individually for Clayton it couldnt have worked out any better under the circumstances, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Fastball was good, velocity was really plus. He got the strikeout when he needed to, but to see Clayton go out there and do what he does, it was a huge lift for us.It was pretty much the same (intensity) both times, Kershaw said. I was obviously thankful to be back the first time, but I wasnt thinking about that. Once you start pitching, youre pitching. Youre trying to get guys out, and if youre not doing that effectively you need to look at it. So I did that.Just a little bit was better overall today. Maybe it was back on a normal routine, a normal four days almost -- or whatever my normal is now. Maybe that helped a little bit, I dont know.Kershaw is 7-1 with a 1.31 ERA in eight home starts this season. He has not pitched at home since beating Washington on June 20.Against the Giants, he is 18-7 with a 1.62 ERA in 34 games. He has posted a 0.80 WHIP, held Giants hitters to a .182 average and on June 10 Kershaw struck out 13 without a walk on 108 pitches in a 3-2 victory.The current Giants have a collective .161 average against Kershaw and its a significant drop-off after Buster Posey and Angel Pagan. Posey and Pagan are a combined .250 (37-for-148) against Kershaw. The rest of the team is 29-for-263 (.110).Burmgarner will be seeking his 100th career win. He is 4-5 with a 3.87 ERA in his last 12 starts after he took the loss Wednesday against the San Diego Padres when he allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.Tough luck. No other way to describe it, Bumgarner said of the loss. I made some good pitches.He is 13-9 with a 2.78 ERA in 25 appearances against the Dodgers, though he has a 5.63 ERA in his two outings against Los Angeles this season.The current Dodgers have a combined .243 average against Bumgarner and the best average belongs to outfielder Enrique Hernandez .579 (11-for-19) with three home runs. Justin Turner is 11-for-41 and left-handed hitters Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Utley are 10-for-50 and 2-for-12, respectively.The Giants led by 6 1/2 games at the All-Star break but lost the lead to the Dodgers on Aug. 21 after falling 2-0 to the Mets. That loss also put the Giants in a fight for the wild card with the Mets and Cardinals.Since the lead changed hands, the Giants have lost 15 of 26 and the Dodgers have won 17 of 27.The Dodgers missed a chance to extend the lead to six games when Ross Stripling gave up a 10th-inning single to Arizonas Brandon Drury in Sundays 10-9 loss.Weve been waiting for this series for a while, Roberts said. I think were still playing pretty good baseball.The Giants were held to five hits and were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position during Sundays 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The loss dropped San Francisco into the second wild spot, one game behind the Mets and one ahead of St. Louis.We created some chances today; we just couldnt get them in, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. We couldnt get the big hit. Swell Bottles Sale .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Swell Water Bottle Clearance . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. http://www.swellwaterbottlesale.com/ . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Swell Bottles Wholesale . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Swell Water Bottle Wood Collection . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Rugby leagues new international eligibility rules could help sell next years World Cup in Australia to the USA and the rest of the world.Under new rules being proposed by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF), players not selected for the tier-one nations, Australia, New Zealand and England, will be free to play for developing league countries.It means the likes of Jarryd Hayne and Anthony Milford could each play State of Origin next year, before being selected to play for Fiji and Samoa respectively at the end-of-season World Cup.It allows us to market a better product when were trying to sell it internationally, RLIF international development manager Tas Baitieri told AAP.Were going to have a better quality standard of the game which is going to be appealing to the public and also television broadcasters.Twelve of the 28 matches at the last World Cup, in 2013, were decided by 20 points or more.When you have games that are bblowout scorelines, it doesnt endower the game a lot when youre trying to sell the game to new countries like America, Baitieri said.ddddddddddddamoa stand to be the big winners of the decision, with a number of players including Milford, Josh McGuire, Suaia Matagi, Junior Paulo, Marty Taupau and Joseph Leilua set to star for the country if they miss Australian or New Zealand selection.And while coach Matt Parish was delighted with the news, he warned a change needed to come at NRL level if the rule adjustment would have any affect on an annual basis through the mid-year Tests.Its really disappointing that some clubs dont support the international game, he said.They support their players when they get picked for Australia and New Zealand but they need to support them when they get picked for Samoa and Tonga. ' ' '