Advertisement

Ely is coming? Looks like he’s arrived in Dodgers’ 13-3 victory over Diamondbacks

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Wow, aren’t the Dodgers lucky that Charlie Haeger’s heel starting acting up?

Otherwise, John Ely can’t be recalled from triple-A Albuquerque. He can’t start Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. And he can’t outpitch Arizona ace Dan Haren and earn his first major league victory.

Ely, the right-hander acquired in an off-season trade with the Chicago White Sox for Juan Pierre who had never pitched above double A until April, gave the Dodgers and their rotation some much needed hope.

Advertisement

Showing his last outing against Milwaukee was no fluke, he was once again brilliant for six innings.

During one stretch, he retired 12 of 13 batters. Through six innings, he gave up only two hits.

When the Diamondbacks got two hits to start the seventh inning, Manager Joe Torre took him out. The bullpen, again, let him down, as both runners scored.

But it remained a stellar performance by Ely, who turns 24 on Thursday, and the Dodgers went on to a 13-3 victory.

For the second consecutive start, he did not walk a batter. He went after hitters. He looked like a veteran, not someone making only his third career start.

He must be a frustrating pitcher to hit against. Ely doesn’t throw that hard, his pitches don’t have any unusual movement. But he’s around the plate, mixes speeds and keeps batters off-balance. He pitches.

Haren recorded his first nine outs via strikeouts. And Ely was not intimidated. He just kept going back out there, maybe appearing a little nervous, but pitching with complete cool.

Advertisement

Ely, who has a passing resemblance to Mathew McConaughey, is 1-1 with a 3.86 earned-run average. And growing confidence.

Three good starts is not a guarantee of anything, but for a troubled rotation with only three real starters, it at least offers much needed promise.

--Steve Dilbeck

Advertisement