John Ely's dad missed a hell of a game. His son pitched into the eighth inning for the first time in his career, but had the audacity to allow a run in the eighth inning, and the Dodgers lost to the Cubs 1-0.
Ely did nothing to quell the growing phenomenon of Ely Mania, taking a shutout into the eighth inning, allowing only six baserunners in the game. Ely did issue two walks, but both were to Derrek Lee, who simply destroyed the Dodgers in this series, with seven hits in nine at-bats plus three walks in three games.
Dodger starting pitchers gave up three earned runs in 18 2/3 innings in the series. The one who gave up the most (Billingsley, two earned runs) got the win, while Ely and Clayton Kershaw (no earned runs in six innings Tuesday) took the loss. Such is baseball.
Ted Lilly pitched seven scoreless innings for the Cubs. The Dodgers have scored 22 runs in their last 10 games at Wrigley Field, and that includes two games with eight runs each.
It seems fitting that a Colvin (Tyler) drove in the game's only run on a day when Sonny Came Home, with Ely returning to Chicago.
The Dodgers travel to Colorado tonight, then start a series tomorrow, with Carlos Monasterios and Jeff Francis in game one.
WP - Sean Marshall (5-1): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 strikeout
LP - John Ely (3-2): 7 1/3 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts
Sv - Carlos Marmol (11): 1 IP, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts