While the Arizona Diamondbacks have had their lead cut in the NL West, dominance over the Los Angeles Dodgers is a big reason why they're still in first place.

Beating the Dodgers for sixth time in seven games, though, could prove more difficult as they take on ace Clayton Kershaw and rookie sensation Yasiel Puig on Monday night in Los Angeles, as reported by espn.com

The Diamondbacks (35-28) lost 6-2 to San Francisco on Sunday as their advantage in the division was reduced to 1 1/2 games over the Giants and Colorado. Arizona has dropped three of four.

Its rotation has played a big part in the recent struggles, posting a 10.80 ERA in the past three losses. The poor performances have led to a heavy workload for the relievers, who pitched at least four innings each time in those defeats.

They'll try for a fifth consecutive victory over the Dodgers when they face Kershaw (5-4, 1.93 ERA), who's among the major league ERA leaders but is winless in his last three starts.

While the left-hander has been solid over that stretch, he hasn't been his usually dominant self, posting a 4.05 ERA after giving up one or no runs in his previous five outings.

Kershaw has also pitched well against Arizona of late but has gone 0-4 in his last five matchups, due largely to almost nonexistent run support. He's posted a 1.98 ERA in the past four but has received a total of two runs of support.

Kershaw went seven innings and gave up two runs -- one earned -- in a 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on May 8. Paul Goldschmidt hit one of his two home runs in that game off Kershaw and went 7 for 13 with four homers and nine RBIs in the series.

Goldschmidt has two hits in 17 at-bats against Kershaw.