From the beginning I thought the race in the NL West would be one of baseball's best. But I expected a two-team battle between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, however, proved me wrong. After they lost Gary Sheffield in the offseason, I figured the Dodgers would be unable to score enough runs to stay in contention. But great starting pitching from the likes of Kazuhisa Ishii, Odalis Perez and Hideo Nomo has kept them in the hunt and turned the division into a three-team race.

As the defending champions and a team blessed with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, the Diamondbacks must be considered the NL West favorites. But overall, I give the division edge to the Giants. Why? Check out my thoughts on each of the three teams (ordered according to Wednesday's standings) as they prepare for the stretch run:

Diamondbacks: In need of a power surge
Arizona almost never loses a game when Schilling and Johnson pitch. Both are capable of winning 8-10 games in a row each; Schilling has already won nine straight decisions during one stretch this season, and Johnson earned victories in his first six outings.

	Junior Spivey has sparked the Arizona offense, hitting .324 and driving in 47 runs.

But then comes the rest of the Diamondbacks' starting pitchers. Arizona is always looking for adequate No. 3 and No. 4 pitchers; the starters behind Schilling and Johnson are a combined 15-22. However, if Miguel Batista is given the ball every fifth day, he would be one of the answers. Manager Bob Brenly has used him as both a starter and a reliever this season, but it appears Batista will remain in the rotation. I expect him to perform well in the second half.

Regardless of what the fielding statistics may indicate, the Diamondbacks are better defensively than both the Giants and the Dodgers. Instead of concentrating on numbers, I watch how a team plays the game. And while they may not be diving around, producing spectacular defensive gems, Arizona is more consistent and makes all the routine plays.

Offensively, the Diamondbacks lack power, something they depended on heavily last season. While they are second in the NL in runs scored and are good at manufacturing runs with their speed, they will have trouble scoring runs down the stretch without more home runs. The Diamondbacks are 11th in the NL in home runs and recently went eight games without one.

Although the Diamondbacks thought they would hit more home runs than they have, no one could expect Luis Gonzalez to hit 57 home runs again. And Reggie Sanders, who hit 33 a year ago, signed with the Giants in the offseason. In their lineup Sunday night, the Diamondbacks had Gonzalez (16 homers) and Junior Spivey (10). After them, Jose Guillen had the next highest home-run total with four because Steve Finley (13) was on the bench against the left-handed Ishii.

So where is their power going to come from? I find it hard to believe the Diamondbacks will suddenly start hitting home runs in the second half. The return of Matt Williams will help to a certain extent, but Craig Counsell did a great job at third base with Williams out and drove in as many key runs as anyone on the team. Brenly will try to mix Williams into the lineup with Counsell. I don't know how it will work, but both players may end up feeling shortchanged.

Spivey is the biggest offensive reason the Diamondbacks are still in good shape. He has been their most consistent player, hitting over .300 every month so far and adding speed to the lineup. He has done everything, and his presence made up for the loss of Williams in the first half.

Still, if the Diamondbacks hope to win the division, they may need to make a trade for another power hitter. They are in a good financial position to cut a deal because they have several high-salaried players, including Todd Stottlemyre ($8 million), Jay Bell ($8 million) and Finley ($5.25 million), who will become free agents at the end of the season, when they can cut payroll. Apparently, they were close to landing Cliff Floyd, who would have been a great fit before Montreal got him instead. Without a deal, the Diamondbacks offense will put an even greater burden on Schilling and Johnson.

Dodgers: How long can they lean on Green?
The Dodgers have had the best starting pitching in the division. Their starters are averaging nearly 6 1/3 innings a start, which has given the bullpen plenty of rest for the second half. Plus, the Dodgers initially didn't know Eric Gagne would be the closer. They were using a closer by committee to start the season, but Gagne took over and has been fantastic at closing out games.

Although their starting rotation is better than last year, the Dodgers still need offense. Their infield offense has been particularly weak. Eric Karros' back problems have prevented him from hitting more than nine home runs, and Adrian Beltre (.238), Cesar Izturis (.232) and Mark Grudzielanek (.251) haven't produced.

Shawn Green has carried the Dodgers' offense and may have been the NL's first-half MVP. But the question is, will pitchers keep pitching to him? I was shocked the way pitchers kept giving him good pitches to hit in the first half. Even in the game in Milwaukee, when he went 6-for-6 with four home runs, I couldn't believe the Brewers never walked him. I think pitchers will start pitching around him more the rest of the way. When that happens, it will impact the rest of the offense.

One positive about the Dodgers is their attitude under manager Jim Tracy. In the recent past, they had more of a Hollywood mentality. They were fragile and would fall apart and point fingers when they started losing. Starting with Tracy, the Dodgers are now a mentally tough baseball team.

When they recently lost three in a row to Arizona, they were acting relaxed and not panicking. Tracy said he feels he, as a manager, and the team have benefitted from a year's experience in a pennant race and should be better than they were last year down the stretch. A year ago at the All-Star break, the Dodgers were 3½ games behind Arizona, but they didn't play as well in the second half and finished six games out.

Tracy has kept everyone focused. He has also made two moves in the last two years that have changed the Dodgers' makeup. Last season, when the Dodgers were talking about trading for a catcher, Tracy said, "I have a catcher. He may not hit a lot, but he'll bring the attitude I want and will be a hard-nosed player." But along with his approach to the game, Paul Lo Duca has hit -- and hit exceptionally well -- and made himself into a National League star.

This season Tracy gave Dave Roberts an opportunity to be his center fielder, and Roberts has emerged as one of baseball's best leadoff hitters. Plus, he works with Maury Wills before every game to become a better base stealer. The work has paid off; Roberts is fourth in the NL with 22 steals and has only been caught five times.

Overall, we'll have to wait and see if the Dodgers can continue their pitching excellence in the second half. But I still think I'll be correct about their inability to score runs, especially if Green gets fewer pitchers to hit.

Giants: It starts with the starters
Because they can score more runs than the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers, the Giants are the team to beat. At the same time, while the Dodgers can't get any better production from their starting pitching, the Giants can.

	Livan Hernandez has been a strong second-half pitcher the last two seasons, going a combined 17-8.

The Giants' starting pitching has been inconsistent and erratic, beginning with No. 1 starter Livan Hernandez. Although he pitched a shutout in his last start, he has performed below expectations. Yet he is always capable of a hot streak; last season he was 7-4 in the second half and in 2000 he was 10-4 after the All-Star break, including 4-1 in September.

I like what rookie Ryan Jensen has added to the rotation. The first time I saw Jensen pitch, I figured he would be even better than he is now, but he still leads the team in wins with 10.

While the Giants starters are collectively not as strong as the Dodgers, they have an edge in the bullpen with closer Robb Nen and setup man Felix Rodriguez, although Rodriguez has pitched much less effectively than he did last season.

The pitching may need improvement, but the Giants have the fewest weaknesses of any team at the plate. They lead the NL in runs scored and are more capable of putting up big numbers with a lineup that features Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, Reggie Sanders and Rich Aurilia.

Dusty Baker's decision to move Kent ahead of Bonds to the No. 3 spot in the order has paid off. Kent is hitting .471 from the three hole. But now that Kent is swinging the bat well again and pitchers are walking Bonds more, it might help Sanders more to put him third. The move would benefit all three hitters. Plus, when Bonds was moving to the cleanup spot, he originally wanted Sanders batting third.

Over the long run, Sanders is a better fit than Kent as a No. 3 hitter because he offers both power and speed (a team-high 17 stolen bases). He could give both Bonds and Kent opportunites to drive in runs. But I can understand Baker's hesitancy to change anything now since Kent is producing and the team is winning.

The Giants could use another bat at first base, although Damon Minor has shown flashes of power in a part-time role. Another top-notch starter wouldn't hurt either. Still, the Giants have proven hitters, capable starters and quality relievers -- the right recipe to dethrone the favored Diamondbacks.

Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan is a baseball analyst for ESPN and contributes a weekly column to ESPN.com.