The Dodgers swept the last-place Cincinnati Reds last month, only to drop three of four games against the Chicago Cubs a week later.
Something similar unfolded this month, when they swept the downtrodden Atlanta Braves one weekend and lost two of three games to the San Francisco Giants the next.
Against that backdrop, there was a measure of significance to the Dodgers’ victory over the first-place Washington Nationals on Monday.
The Dodgers had won only 13 of their previous 31 games against teams with winning records.