CHC@LAD: Ellis smacks his second home run of the game
LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers added a new starter on Friday in Joe Blanton and it appears they may have another one in Chad Billingsley, who has looked like anything but his old self in his last three outings.
Billingsley, a mainstay since 2006 in a rotation that has been plagued by inconsistency, led the Dodgers to a 6-1 victory in the series opener thanks to seven innings of one-run ball. A pair of homers by A.J. Ellis didn’t hurt either.
After missing his first start after the All-Star break with a sore elbow, the righty has gone 3-0 with the first two victories coming on the road against the Cardinals and Giants. He has given up only two runs in 20 1/3 innings since coming off the disabled list
Prior to that short stint on the DL, Billingsley lost five straight starts and sported a 4.30 ERA and 4-9 record.
The offense rebounded nicely after being swept by Arizona earlier in the week to back Billingsley, who gave up just four hits while striking out seven.
Ellis finished with his first career multi-homer game. That got the catcher to trend nationally on Twitter thanks to a plug from broadcaster Vin Scully.
Shane Victorino picked up his first hit as a Dodger while Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs after going 0-for-10 in his first home series at Dodger Stadium.
Ellis got the scoring started with a solo shot to left-center in the third for his ninth home run of the season. After the Cubs tied it up in the fifth with an RBI double by Luis Valbuena, the Dodgers roared back with four runs over the next two innings.
Taking advantage of an extreme infield shift, Ramirez hit a ground ball past a diving Darwin Barney at second base. Ramirez, making his first start at shortstop in 2012, quickly turned on the burners and turned a routine single into a double.
Up next was James Loney, who roped a double to right to bring home Ramirez and give the Dodgers the lead. Luis Cruz flied out deep enough to right for Loney to tag up and Ellis scored him with a single to left field.
The Dodgers put another two runs on the board in the sixth after Mark Ellis and Matt Kemp led off the inning with a single and double.
After Andre Ethier grounded out to pitcher Jeff Samardzija, Ramirez, who came into the game 6-for-12 against the Cubs’ starter, beat the infield shift again with a single that brought both baserunners home.
A.J. Ellis hit his 10th home run of the season and second of the game in the seventh inning to add to the Dodgers’ four-run lead.
Alex Angert is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
