Clayton Kershaw went seven scoreless innings and Shohei Ohtani hit a pair of home runs as the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to an 11-5 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Teoscar Hernandez added a homer and Mookie Betts had a two-run double as the Dodgers evened their first series of the season vs. their longtime rival at a game each. In his 61st career appearance against the Giants, and 59th start, Kershaw (2-0) allowed three hits with one walk.

The San Diego Padres are currently 38-30, two games back from the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West. The Padres basically have it all. They have stars like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill. They have a solid starting rotation even without Michael King. They have one of the best bullpens in Major League Baseball. However, the one glaring weakness for the Padres is left field. Jason Heyward, Tyler Wade and Brandon Lockridge have platooned and haven't provided much offense for San Diego. If the Padres want to win the NL West, an upgrade in left field at the trade deadline is critical for their success. “Padres left fielders

The San Diego Padres are currently 38-30, two games back from the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West. The Padres basically have it all. They have stars like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill. They have a solid starting rotation even without Michael King. They have one of the best bullpens in Major League Baseball. However, the one glaring weakness for the Padres is left field. Jason Heyward, Tyler Wade and Brandon Lockridge have platooned and haven't provided much offense for San Diego. If the Padres want to win the NL West, an upgrade in left field at the trade deadline is critical for their success. “Padres left fielders

Los Angeles Dodgers Set to Receive Major Rotation Boost After Emmett Sheehan Injury News

President of baseball operations Buster Posey is an unknown since he hasn't gone through a trade deadline as an executive just yet, but he's shown this season that he's not afraid to make bold moves that positions the Giants to keep winning. As San Francisco assesses their needs ahead of the trade deadline, they importantly have a wealth of something several contenders don't have — starting pitching.

Justin Verlander took another step in his recovery from right pectoral tightness, throwing a bullpen session on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium prior to the Giants' game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manager Bob Melvin said “there's a chance” Verlander returns from the 15-day injured list during San Francisco's upcoming nine-game home stand against the Cleveland Guardians, Boston Red Sox and Miami Marlins.

The San Francisco Giants are on absolute fire, winning eight of their last nine including the series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night to get the weekend started off right. All season long, despite being healthy, Adames has just not yet clicked in the Bay Area and was in the midst of putting together one of the worst seasons of his career.

The San Francisco Giants have been one of the best teams in baseball thus far this season, exceeding all expectations that were placed on them. When the Giants got off to a hot start, everyone figured it was a fluke and they would cool down eventually. More news: Will Giants Offense Receive Big Enough Boost After Recent Shakeup? Given how much success San Francisco has had, it should come as no surprise that several of their players are going to be in the mix for a spot on the National League All-Star team.

All Times EDT East Division W L Pct GB New York 45 25 .643 — Philadelphia 40 29 .580 4½ Atlanta 30 38 .441 14 Washington 30 40 .429 15 Miami 27 41 .397 17 Central Division W L Pct GB Chicago 42 28 .600 — Milwaukee 38 33 .535 4½ St. Louis 36 34 .514 6 Cincinnati 36 35 .507 6½ Pittsburgh 29 42 .408 13½ West Division W L Pct GB Los Angeles 41 29 .586 — San Francisco 41 29 .586 — San Diego 38 30 .559 2 Arizona 35 34 .507 5½ Colorado 13 56 .188 27½ Friday's Games Pittsburgh 2, Chicago Cubs 1, 10 innings Philadelphia 8, Toronto 0 Atlanta 12, Colorado 4 Detroit 11, Cincinnati 5 Miami 11, Washington 9 Tampa Bay 7, N.Y. Mets 5 Milwaukee 3, St. Louis 2 Arizona 5, San Diego 1 San Francisco 6, L.A. Dodgers

The San Francisco Giants do not exactly have an elite farm system, but they do have a bona fide superstar at the top of their rankings who they have a ton of hope tied up into. Young first baseman Bryce Eldridge ranks as the No. 19 overall prospect in Major League Baseball according to MLB Pipeline, and he's far and away the top name in the Giants organization. Despite being just 20 years old, San Francisco promoted Eldridge a couple weeks ago from Double-A to Triple-A following a strong start to the season in 34 games with Richmond.

The San Francisco Giants' teams of 2010, 2012 and 2014 will live forever. Three times in five years, with the fun alternating pattern, they were World Series champions. Manager Bruce Bochy, now with the Rangers, may call it quits soon. The Athletic's Jim Bowden expects this to be the last season for Bochy before retirement.

This weekend the Giants and Dodgers face each other again in Los Angeles. Back in the day, that meant that Dodgers closer Eric Gagne would, at times, get the chance to face Giants slugger Barry Bonds. During an appearance on The Morning Roast on 95.7 FM, Gagne was asked a pointed question about Bonds and the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, who is one of baseball's best hitters and, when pitching, its only two-way player.

Control was an issue for Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who issued five walks and threw 56 of 102 pitches for strikes.

Despite being tied for first place in the toughest division in the league, a top MLB insider does not expect

There is not a team Clayton Kershaw has faced more than the San Francisco Giants, and the Los Angeles Dodgers' legend will get his next shot against his club's fiercest rival at home on Saturday. Kershaw (1-0, 4.35 ERA) will make the 61st appearance and 59th start against the Giants over his 18-year career and will have some lofty numbers to live up to. Not only does Kershaw have a career 2.04 ERA against the Giants, to go along with a 26-16 record, he has 408 strikeouts in 397 1/3 innings.

In Friday's win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb mixed things up again, catcher Andrew Knizner helped out and shortstop Willy Adames stayed hot.

San Francisco Giants (41-29, second in the NL West) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (41-29, first in the NL West) Los Angeles; Saturday, 10:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: Landen Roupp (4-4, 3.42 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 63 strikeouts); Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 4.35 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 15 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dodgers -179, Giants +149; over/under is 9 runs BOTTOM LINE: The San Francisco Giants lead 1-0 in a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Angeles has a 23-12 record in home games and a 41-29 record overall. The Dodgers have a 26-8 record in games when they hit two or more home runs. San Francisco has a 41-29 record overall and a 19-18 record in road games. The Giants

Casey Schmitt admired his work for half a second. Schmitt didn't need to watch the ball soar through the night. Schmitt, instead, stared at the faces in his dugout — a dugout he ignited with his first career grand slam. It wasn't just a swing that shocked ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and served as redemption for Thursday afternoon's costly error.

Teoscar Hernandez provided all the Dodgers' offense against the Giants but the All-Star slugger's efforts weren't enough as LA came up short.

Logan Webb came up with a dominant show and Casey Schmitt provided the offensive fireworks as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Friday night in the opener of a key NL West showdown in Major League Baseball (MLB). Webb (6-5) was sharp across seven innings, allowing just two hits and two runs while striking out four and walking three — picking up his first win since May 16.