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. Chris Mullin Warriors Jersey . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. DAngelo Russell Warriors Jersey . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. https://www.warriorsrookiesshop.com/Dangelo-Russell-City-Edition-Jersey/ . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Kevon Looney Warriors Jersey . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. Surely Ortons name isnt the first that comes to mind for fans wanting a change after years of damaging interceptions, fumbles or, most infamously, the field goal flub when Romo dropped the snap on a kick that could have won his first playoff game in 2006. Alec Burks Jersey . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Minnesota erased a 12-point first half deficit and hung on to defeat Vanderbilt 56-52 on Saturday.Freshman Amir Coffey hit two field goals in the final 95 seconds to help the Gophers to improve to 7-1 on the season. Coffey was 0-for-2 in the first half but came up big down the stretch.He had two, just really big-time shots, said Minnesota coach Richard Pitino. He had great confidence and poise, especially for a freshman. Hes a really great player who can do a lot of things.The Gophers trailed 25-24 at halftime but used a 15-2 run to open the second half to build their biggest lead of the game at 39-27. From that point, Vanderbilt (4-4) went on a 23-11 run over the next eight minutes to take a six point advantage before the Gophers pulled away late.It was a game of runs. It was a fun game, Pitino said. This was a good win. I was happy to see our guys fight and get back in it. More than once.Jordan Murphy recorded his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead Minnesota. He was 8-for-17 from the field and grabbed ten of his 14 rebounds in the second half.Vanderbilts Jeff Roberson also recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 16 rebounds. His 3-pointer with 7:09 to play gave the Commodores a 45-44 lead, their first lead since the one-point edge at halftime.Vanderbilt finished the night shooting just 30.2 percent, going 28.1% in the second half. They went to the free throw line just nine times, seven of those attempts coming in the final 12 minutes.I think defensively, were pretty good right now, Pitino said. Vanderbilt is a very gifted offensive team, so to hold them to 30 percent and to do it without fouling is just terrific.The Commodores were just 9-for-32 from the field in the second half and scored just one field goal in the first six minutes of the game.They have a lot of length and athleticism, said Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew. They contested a lot of shots. Yea, we had some good looks, but they made it tough on us all night.The Commodores looked to blow it out early when they built a 14-2 lead. But after missing 10 of their first 11 shots, Minnesota responded with a 13-0 run and took the lead on a Dupree McBrayer basket. The Gophers didnt get their first basket of the game until tthe 14:57 mark when Murphy finally scored.dddddddddddd Minnesota finished the night shooting 39 percent, but hitting 44.8 percent in the second half.After Minnesota built the lead to 39-27 on a 15-2 run to open the second half, it was Vanderbilt who made another run to cut the gap. Over the next eight minutes, the Commodores went on an 18-5 run to take the lead with just over seven minutes to play on a Luke Kornet 3-pointer.Vanderbilt built the lead to as many as six, but the momentum turned back to Minnesota when Coffey hammered home a dunk on an alley-oop pass from McBrayer, cutting the lead to 50-48 with 4:48 to play.McBrayer fouled Vanderbilts Nolan Cressler from outside the arc with 1:45 to play and the score tied at 50. Cressler made two of three from the line for a quick lead before the Gophers scored the final six.BIG PICTUREMinnesota: The Gophers improve to 7-1 and have six straight games back in Minneapolis where they are 6-0 this season. The home stretch is capped by their BIG 10 season opener on Dec. 27 vs. Michigan State.Vanderbilt: The loss snaps a two-game win streak for the Commodores who made their first visit to South Dakota. They return home for two of their next three games.STAT OF THE NIGHTMinnesota outscored Vanderbilt 34-8 in the paint. Were definitely a perimeter shooting team, but thats something weve addressed and will continue to address, Drew said. We have to find a way to get easier points and getting the ball to the rim. Thats been a challenge for us.LET DOWNVanderbilts Matthew Fisher-Davis entered the game leading the Commodores in scoring at 15.3 points per game including a 22-point game in Vanderbilts victory over Tennessee State on Tuesday. Against Minnesota, he had his worst shooting night of the season going just 3-for-11 from the field and scored just three points in the second half.UP NEXTMinnesota: The Gophers return home to Minneapolis to host the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Dec. 6. The Highlanders come to Minnesota the winners of two straight including its 75-74 victory on Saturday against UMASS Lowell.Vanderbilt: The Commodores return home to Nashville to host High Point on Dec. 6. ' ' '