The Dodgers used contributions up and down the lineup, and John Ely had another great start in getting a win over the Astros, 6-2. The streak has now reached eight in a row.
It's no secret that the Astros came into this series as one of the biggest disappointments in baseball. They have Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, and Hunter Pence in the middle of their lineup, plus Roy Oswalt as their ace, and they suck.
Still, they at least made it look like they'd put up a fight starting in the first. Michael Bourn singled to lead off. After going to second on a groundout, Berkman's RBI single made it 1-0.
If you're an Astro fan reading this, you may as well just quit right here, because it was all downhill from there. Reed Johnson got the start in left and singled with one out. A walk to Manny Ramirez and single by Matt Kemp loaded the bases.
James Loney has been red hot lately, and his sac-fly RBI tied it at 1-1. Casey Blake hasn't been doing much (at the plate anyway), but he placed a grounder just down the line in right to score two and make it 3-1.
As good as Ely has been in his last couple of starts, that was all the cushion he would need. His next run he gave up was in the fifth on a Pedro Feliz RBI single. On this night, Ely finished with seven innings, five hits, two runs, no walks, and eight strikeouts.
Up 3-1, the Dodgers added another run in the fourth. Blake DeWitt tripled with one down. Jamey Carroll scored him on a sacrifice fly, making it 4-1.
After the Astros cut the lead to 4-2, the score remained that way until the eighth. With Brandon Lyon now in, Manny greeted him with a double to start. Loney was given the intentional pass with one down, and Blake struck out. But, DeWitt had another good at-bat, hitting another triple to score two, and it was 6-2.
In addition to Ely, Jeff Weaver, George Sherrill, and Ramon Troncoso combined to shut down the final two innings. For Sherrill, that's now three straight innings of scoreless ball. That's not a big deal, but compared to how flat out atrocious he was to start the season, maybe it is.
The Dodgers once again played without Rafael Furcal and Andre Ethier. Furcal looks like he'll need another rehab start, then should hopefully be back soon. As for Ethier, he's on the 15-day DL because of his broken pinkie. It's a tough blow, but the Dodgers have a knack for stepping up when key players are out (yes, I am referring to Manny's suspension last season).
The brief two-game series will conclude tonight with the Dodgers looking for their third straight sweep. Hiroki Kuroda has quietly been pitching great with a 2.66 ERA, and he'll look for his fifth win.
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