Cubs roll all over Ely

For as good as John Ely was to start the season, the tide has definitely turned.

Ely was once again pounded and knocked out early as the Cubs put up six runs after three innings and won, 7-3. The Rockies have won six straight, and they are now a game back of the Padres in the NL West, while the Dodgers are two back.

The Cubs got things rolling in the second. Marlon Byrd led off with a walk. He then moved over to second on Alfonso Soriano's groundout, and scored on Starlin Castro's RBI single. Geovany Soto then launched a two-run shot, and it was 3-0.

In the bottom of the frame, the Dodgers put together a two out rally, only to come up empty. A.J. Ellis walked and Xavier Paul singled. It's the National League, and that meant the pitcher was due up last as Ely struck out to end the inning.

The third would represent Ely's last inning, as he just never got things going in the right direction. The bases got loaded with one down on Derek Lee's single, Aramis Ramirez's infield single, and Byrd's plunking. Soriano is not the most patient man in the world, but even he drew a walk to force in a run for a 4-0 score.

That was all she wrote for Ely, as Travis Schlichting was summoned. Castro singled home a run, which could have been worse had Paul not gunned down Byrd at home. Soto then got another RBI with a single, and it was becoming a blowout at 6-0.

It took until the fifth for the Dodgers to get on the board. Paul led off with an infield single on a bad call at first. An out later, Rafael Furcal hit a single for two on. Now with two outs, Andre Ethier hit an RBI single to score Paul, and Raffy came around to score on Byrd's throwing error, making it 6-2.

Carlos Monasterios relieved Schlichting to start the sixth and stranded a couple of baserunners. Actually, the real highlight of the inning was Lou Piniella getting tossed, still mad about the call the previous inning.

The Cubs stretched their lead by one on Ramirez's solo shot to center. He's been atrocious this year, but you wouldn't know that by the way he's pounded the Dodgers. Maybe he's figuring things out. Or maybe the Dodgers are just unlucky.

Carlos Marmol came on to finish the game and struggled a bit. Blake DeWitt walked, went to second on fielder's indifference, and scored on Ethier's RBI single. Matt Kemp also singled, but James Loney lined to short to end the game.

The red flags are definitely out on Ely, who's been just awful lately. He lasted a mere 2 1/3 innings for five hits, six runs, three walks, and one strikeout. His ERA is now up to 4.63. His three walks might not seem like much, but it was considering he never got out of the third.

I'm not sure what the Dodgers can do other than hope Ely figures everything out. Maybe Jeff Weaver or Monasterios get spot starts, but I doubt Joe Torre wants them taken out of the bullpen. Regardless, the Dodgers really need Ely to be more effective than this.

The Dodgers will look to take three of four from the Cubs on Sunday. Once again, the game will be on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. It's the third time in the last four weeks the Dodgers get national TV treatment. The first two were close losses to the Red Sox and Yankees, so it would be nice to see them win one of these games for a change.