Such has been the extraordinary dominance of the resurgent Los Angeles Dodgers over the past two months that a series loss to the Boston Red Sox over the weekend barely dented their collective stride.

The Dodgers were beaten 8-1 by the Red Sox in the rubber match of a three-game series in Los Angeles on Sunday, the first series they have lost since June 14-16 at Pittsburgh.

During that span, they had won or split 18 series in a row to set a franchise record.