LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor said he’s surprised to see the Giants atop the National League West standings this late into the season. The comment wasn’t intended to be a shot at the Giants, rather that he expects the Dodgers to claim a spot they’ve had a firm grip on for nearly a decade.

With the Giants in town for a two-game set, the Dodgers have a shot to close the gap. They got off to a strong start on Monday, launching three solo homers to get past the Giants, 3-2, at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are now 2 1/2 games back in the NL West.

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The Dodgers, who have been emphasizing getting off to good starts, wasted no time jumping out in front. Mookie Betts launched his fourth leadoff homer of the season, and Max Muncy followed with a 424-foot blast of his own to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead in the first.

It was Muncy’s sixth homer of the season against the Giants and 14th vs. the rivals in his career. It was also just the sixth time in franchise history that the Dodgers have started a game with back-to-back homers. The last time was July 3, 2018, against the Pirates.

“We know they’re going to play us tough,” Betts said. “It’s two really good teams. I think we did a good job of not adding extra pressure on ourselves and going and playing another game like we always do.”

Will Smith added his homer in the fourth inning. The three solo shots turned out to be just enough for right-hander Trevor Bauer and the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Bauer wasn’t as dominant as he has been in previous starts, but he still managed to pitch well, striking out eight and allowing two runs over six innings. The one area where Bauer has struggled this season is allowing balls to leave the yard. Bauer allowed two solo homers on Monday. He has now allowed 19 homers this season, the second-most in the Majors.

“It’s definitely bad luck,” Bauer said. “I mean, it’s not like I’m missing middle-middle with pitches. I guess at some point it’ll get better, I guess. I don’t know. But happy they’re solos.”

After Bauer came out of the game, the Dodgers turned to Victor González, Blake Treinen and Kenley Jansen. González and Treinen got into jams in the seventh and eighth innings, but both were able to make big pitches in key situations. Jansen pitched the ninth for his 19th save of the season.

“Our guys just made pitches when they needed to,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Roberts’ team also made plenty of key defensive plays. Muncy made a nice play early in the game, crashing in on an Anthony DeSclafani bunt. Muncy was able to throw the lead runner out at third. One batter later, Bauer got out of the jam.

Cody Bellinger also showed off why he has a Gold Glove at home. He made a nice catch on a Buster Posey flare, robbing him of at least a single. And in the ninth, Bellinger made up for a small mistake, throwing out Mike Tauchman at second base for the first out of the frame after bobbling his single. Smith also deserves a lot of credit for making some big stops behind the plate in the later innings.

“When you’re playing tight games against quality opponents ... those plays matter,” Roberts said. “A lot of times they don’t show up in the scorecards.”

During Spring Training, Betts said the hardest part of repeating as World Series champions is that every team in the Majors will be giving the Dodgers their best shot. Through the first three months, the Dodgers haven’t always responded to that challenge.

They certainly responded on Monday.

“We’ve done a good job of trying to limit those valleys,” Betts said. “I know we went through one early, and now we’re staying kind of steady. We really haven’t gotten hot, so that’s one thing we need to do at some point.”