CHICAGO (AP) - Manny Ramirez hit his 26th postseason homer, extending his major league record, and the Los Angeles Dodgers led the Chicago Cubs 6-0 after six innings Thursday night in Game 2 of their NL division series.
Russell Martin's three-run double off Carlos Zambrano capped a five-run second. Ramirez made it 6-0 when he opened the fifth by driving his second homer in two nights off the roof of the batter's eye club in straightaway center field.After winning the opener 7-2, the Dodgers took advantage of two early errors by Chicago on Thursday and were in great position to take control of the best-of-five series behind starter Chad Billingsley.
The Cubs were counting on a big effort from Zambrano after Ryan Dempster tied a career high with seven walks and gave up a grand slam to James Loney while getting knocked out in the fifth Wednesday. Instead, Big Z got little help from his defense as Los Angeles grabbed the lead.
Second baseman Mark DeRosa bobbled Blake DeWitt's grounder as Andre Ethier scored the first run, and first baseman Derrek Lee booted Casey Blake's grounder, loading the bases with one out. Another run came in on Rafael Furcal's bunt single before Martin cleared the bases with a double to left-center.
Swept by Arizona in the first round last season, the Cubs had big goals after posting the National League's best record at 97-64. They were particularly good at Wrigley Field, winning 55 games, but the Dodgers were the ones making themselves at home in the Friendly Confines.
Billingsley looked sharp early on. The 16-game winner gave up a leadoff single to Alfonso Soriano, who had just 11 hits in his 71 playoff at-bats, and threw a wild pitch, but the Cubs stranded the runner.
The Dodgers grabbed the lead in the second when Andre Ethier led off with a single and moved to third on Loney's hit-and-run single off shortstop Ryan Theriot's bare hand. Then, two quick miscues hurt the Cubs.
That DeRosa, who had only 11 errors during the regular season, and Lee, a three-time Gold Glove winner, committed them was a bit surprising.
Only 18 of 56 teams who lost the division series opener came back to win the series, including only four of 28 in the NL, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Dodgers needed a late surge to win the NL West and were trying to put their recent postseason struggles behind them. Los Angeles had dropped 12 of 13 playoff games entering this series since they beat Oakland in the 1988 World Series, but two key components are no strangers to postseason success: manager Joe Torre and Ramirez, their key midseason acquisition.
Torre guided the Yankees to the playoffs the past 12 years, winning four championships, while Ramirez helped Boston win two titles. He batted .396 after the trade, and he's not slowing down against the Cubs.
