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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. Blues Jerseys China . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. 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Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. OLYMPICSRIO DE JANEIRO -- A half-million foreign tourists, dozens of heads of state and the attention of the worlds media. If there were ever a headache for anti-terror forces, its the Olympics.In the aftermath of deadly attacks by the Islamic State group in France and elsewhere, Brazil, which has almost no experience combatting terrorism, is beefing up security for the games that start in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 5. Plans include doubling the number of security forces on the streets, erecting more checkpoints and working closer with foreign intelligence agencies than Brazilians did in the 2014 World Cup.But will it be enough?Richard Ford, a retired FBI anti-terror expert who lives in Brazil, said that while the government has a robust program to keep athletes and venues safe, he worries that authorities arent taking the threat of a lone-wolf or suicide attack seriously enough.MOSCOW -- A depleted Russian team departed for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, missing dozens of athletes who were excluded amid the countrys doping scandal.Team members left on a charter flight from Moscows Sheremetevo airport to Brazil, a day after an emotional farewell ceremony with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.More than 100 athletes from what was originally a 387-strong team have been barred from competing in Rio by international sports federations under sanctions which most Russian athletes consider unfair.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Sabotage by unhappy workers may have caused water and gas leaks, blocked toilets and electrical faults that slowed teams from moving into the athletes village, Rio Olympic organizers said.All 31 buildings at the massive compound for 18,000 athletes and staff were due to be ready at the end of Thursday, with the games opening in just over a week. Andrada says about 400 of the 3,600 rooms in the complex had defects.South Americas first games have been plagued by problems, including the Zika virus, severe water pollution, security worries and slow ticket sales. But the slipshod construction is the first problem directly touching many teams and athletes.GOLFSPRINGFIELD, N.J. -- A stale year for Jimmy Walker came to life in the PGA Championship when he saw putts drop and wound up leading a major for the first time in his career.A great year might get even better for Henrik Stenson.Walker took advantage of smoother greens in the morning Thursday at Baltusrol by rolling in six birdies for a 5-under 65, giving him a one-shot lead after the opening round of the final major that delivered its share of surprises.U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, with a chance to go to No. 1 in the world, was in the trees, in the water and couldnt get out of a bunker. He managed only one birdie in a round of 77 that wasnt enough to beat 15 of the club pros at Baltusrol.Rory McIlroy took 35 putts and didnt make a single birdie in his round of 74 that left him so frustrated that he returned to Baltusrol late in the day with his putter.WOBURN, England -- Mirim Lee shot a 10-under 62 to match the Womens British Open record and open a three-stroke lead in the major championship at tree-lined Woburn Golf Club.Three weeks after shooting a 64 in the first round of the U.S. Womens Open, the 25-year-old South Korean player made the last of her 10 birdies on the par-3 17th and closed with a par.Lee fell a stroke short of thhe LPGA Tour major record of 61 set by Hyo Joo Kim in the first round of the 2014 Evian Championship.dddddddddddd Minea Blomqvist shot a 62 in the third round of the 2004 Womens British Open at Sunningdale.Ariya Jutanugarn was second after a bogey-free 65. Chinas Shanshan Feng had a 66, and American Stacy Lewis and South Koreas Mi Hyang Lee shot 67.HAYWARD, Calif. -- Stephan Jaeger shot a 12-under 58 in the Web.com Tours Ellie Mae Classic to match the lowest score in major tour play.The 27-year-old German player finished with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth at TPC Stonebrae.Japans Ryo Ishikawa also shot a 12-under 58 to win the 2010 Crowns on the Tour. Jaeger broke the Web.com Tour record of 59 held by Notah Begay III, Doug Dunakey, Jason Gore, Will Wilcox and Russell Knox. Six players have shot 59 in official PGA Tour events.BASEBALLNEW YORK -- Major League Baseball denied the Los Angeles Angels formal protest of their loss at Kansas City on Wednesday night.Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre ruled on the protest Thursday.Angels manager Mike Scioscia protested Kansas Citys 7-5 victory, claiming the Royals Raul Mondesi ran inside the line on a bunt single in the seventh inning. The play led to a throwing error and two runners scoring, and Scioscia claimed Mondesi was illegally on the grass when pitcher Matt Shoemaker made his errant throw to first.SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants acquired All-Star infielder Eduardo Nunez from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for a minor league pitcher.Nunez was batting .296 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI this season for the Twins and was leading the American League with 27 steals at the time of the trade.The move adds some much-needed depth to San Franciscos injury-plagued infield.Second baseman Joe Panik was activated off the disabled list prior to the Giants game against Washington on Thursday, while third baseman Matt Duffy remains out with a strained left Achilles. Backup infielder Ehire Adrianza has also been sidelined since mid-April with a foot injury.COLLEGE FOOTBALLNEW YORK -- The College Football Playoff has abandoned a plan to play most of its semifinals on New Years Eves after television ratings tumbled last year, moving the dates of future games to ensure they will be played either on a weekend or a holiday.The changes will start with the 2018 season. The TV ratings for last years semifinal games played on Thursday, Dec. 31, dropped 36 percent from the semifinals played the season before on New Years Day.This seasons semifinals are still set for Saturday, Dec. 31. Next seasons playoff is scheduled to be back on Jan. 1. In 2018, the games initially scheduled to be played on New Years Eve, will now be played Saturday, Dec. 29.The 2019 games will move to Saturday, Dec. 28.NFLINDIANAPOLIS -- The NBA has announced that the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets will play in London on Jan. 12.The game will be played at The O2 arena, league officials said. Denver will be considered the home team and tickets will go on sale at the start of the upcoming season.It is the first time the Pacers have played a regular-season game overseas, though they have played preseason games in China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Germany and Spain. ' ' '