A.J. Ellis became the man on and off the field Friday night. He homered twice for the first time in his career to carry the offense on the field.
Off the field? The legendary Vin Scully successfully got him trending on Twitter. I guess this whole tweeting thing is pretty cool to Vin!
With the suddenly resurgent Chad Billingsley on the mound, Ellis got things going in the third with his first solo home run for the 1-0 lead.
The Cubs tied it up in the fifth, which is the closest they would be all night. Darwin Barney singled with one out to center. Luis Valbuena doubled to the right field corner in which Barney hustled home on. Billingsley got the next two to keep it tied.
The Dodgers got two more in the bottom of the frame and never looked back. Hanley Ramirez took advantage of an infield shift to the left to hit one through the right, then scampered to second for a leadoff double on a great play. Luis Cruz flew out to get Ramirez to third, and with two outs, Ellis had another great at-bat with an RBI single to make it 3-0.
Billingsley got out of a two-on, two-out jam in the top of the sixth, and the Dodgers further distanced themselves in the bottom half. Mark Ellis singled leading off. Matt Kemp doubled into right in which both runners hustled to get to second and third. Ramirez lined a two-run single into center, and the Dodgers were in full command at 5-1.
The last run came into the seventh when Ellis again homered to go up 6-1. It was his 10th of the season... and first as a trending topic! Hey, even I got in on the fun by showing some #AJEllis love. It was worth it.
Shawn Tolleson walked a couple in the ninth, but got Barney to ground into a game ending double play.
The story of the game was the reemergence of two somewhat forgotten players in Billingsley and Ellis. Since coming off the DL July 23, Billingsley is 3-0 with an 0.89 ERA. I guess his elbow was worse than people thought. Maybe it's that, or maybe he's just pitching with more confidence, too. Whatever the case, once again we're talking about how he's the #2 behind Kershaw, and for now anyway, he looks every bit the part of that. He's on track to make his next start at home against the Rockies as he looks to keep the ball rolling.
Ellis has gradually seen his numbers dip this year, which isn't too surprising considering he's a catcher and has never been known for having a big bat anyway. On Friday, though, he reminded everyone why he's a threat at the bottom of the order. I'm sure knowing everyone is healthy, and with the additions of Ramirez and Shane Victorino, he can relax and do his thing with much less pressure. It sure showed in this one.
A couple of new arrivals had good moments as well. It took Victorino until his eighth at-bat, but he finally got on the board with a single and a stolen base. Even with a bit of a slow start, he's still a big upgrade in the leadoff spot. Brandon League pitched a scoreless eighth, striking out two and inducing a pop up to right. He looked good.
The Dodgers are obviously a streaky team, so after dropping three straight, maybe this is the start of winning three straight this weekend. Clayton Kershaw will take the mound on Saturday, and he's coming off a complete game shutout in San Francisco. Needless to say, I like the Dodgers' chances here.
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