Wood: Dodgers getting 'punched in the face' was bound to happen this season

With Sunday's 6-4 loss to the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers have lost seven of their last eight games and look shakier than at any other moment in 2017. This is a team that went on a dominant 68-18 stretch that started in mid-May and ended just over a week ago.

Despite the recent tailspin, Dodgers players aren't panicking. Pitcher Alex Wood took the loss on Sunday for only the second time this season, allowing four runs on seven hits over six innings. The lefty basically said they can't all be diamonds.

"I think it's a statistical improbability to go the whole year without getting punched in the face," Wood told the Los Angeles Times' Andy McCullough.

And punched in the face they have been, losing three of four to the lowly Padres after being swept by the surging Arizona Diamondbacks - the first sweep the Dodgers have suffered all season.

First baseman Cody Bellinger - who broke the franchise rookie record for home runs on Sunday - recently returned from injury, but doesn't seem overly concerned about the team's recent skid.

"I'm not worried," Bellinger said. "And I know no one in this clubhouse is worried about what's happened in this past week."

Losing isn't fun, but the Dodgers just haven't done much of it this year. The team still has a remarkable 92-44 record, sitting 13 1/2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks even after their rivals have won 10 straight. Barring an unprecedented and cataclysmic end to the season, the Dodgers should saunter into the playoffs with ease.

The Dodgers head home for three games against those pesky desert snakes on Monday, however, so things might be a little more interesting by the time the Colorado Rockies come to town on Thursday.