The NL West was shaping up to be an interesting division long before the 2021 season began, but the intrigue involved the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. The defending World Series champs assembled a historically deep team, but the upstart Padres made it known they were going to challenge their neighbors to the north for West Coast supremacy in the National League.
That rivalry has not disappointed, but an old rivalry has been renewed with the San Francisco Giants putting both teams on notice.
San Francisco (35-21) is currently first in the division, though the three teams are all within two games of one another.