Tonight, the Dodgers will head into a short two-game clash against the Giants. It’s always been a heated rivalry ever since the New York Giants’ Bobby Thomson hit a walkoff home run off the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ralph Branca in 1951 to win the National League Pennant in a moment dubbed the “shot heard ’round the world.” Now, 70 years later and about 3,000 miles to the west, they continue to do battle with more recent moments punctuating the rivalry. Max Muncy telling a jawing Madison Bumgarner to “go get it out of the ocean” to the home run ball he blasted into McCovey Cove comes to mind. But one thing’s been missing lately from the rivalry despite all the animosity: The two teams succeeding at the same time. That changes tonight. The Giants sit with the best record in all of baseball with a 50-27 mark and the Dodgers don’t sit too far behind with a 47-31 record. The Dodgers turned the tide the past few days with three straight wins over the Chicago Cubs, while the Giants are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Standings-wise, the intrigue is abound as well with the Dodgers trailing the Giants by 3 1/2 games. Win both, and they’re on the Giants heels sitting a game and a half back. But lose both, and they’re back down to 5 1/2 — not an insurmountable deficit in June, but not one to take lightly either. The Dodgers will be anchored on the mound by Trevor Bauer and Walker Buehler, while the Giants will counter with Anthony Desclafani and Kevin Gausman over Monday and Tuesday. Each of the four are having great seasons, while Buehler and Gausman are both having arguably the best seasons of their careers. Factor in players like Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Donovan Solano, and Mike Tauchman playing well for the Giants, while Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Will Smith, and more recently Zach McKinstry are doing the same for the Dodgers, the two teams are on a crash course for a great mini series. One with intrigue beyond California. Intrigue that’s now national again. Hatred and performance on both sides. That’s how rivalries should be, and that’s where the Dodgers and Giants stand today. Settle in over the next two days. It’s going to be a fun show.