The Dodgers were down a run in the middle of the seventh, but a five-run rally in the bottom half of the inning helped the Dodgers beat the Cubs 7-3, along with a solid outing by Derek Lowe.
The game was scoreless until the fifth when the Cubs scored a run and added another in the sixth. The Dodgers tied it at 2 in the sixth off Russell Martin’s two-run shot, one of his three hits for the game to break his 0 for 15 skid. The Cubs took a 3-2 lead in the seventh but the Dodger offense exploded for five runs in the bottom half to lead them to the win. Juan Pierre scored off an error before Martin drove home Andre Ethier, who had singled. Matt Kemp then topped off the inning with a three-run homer to send Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano out of the game. The Dodgers tagged Zambrano for seven earned runs on 13 hits.
Lowe had a no-hitter going until the fifth when he allowed a run to score and then got behind 2-0 in the sixth by giving up a solo shot to Alfonso Soriano. The Dodgers tied it but Lowe allowed the Cubs to take a 3-2 lead in the seventh with an RBI-single by Zambrano. The five-run seventh by the Dodger offense, though, allowed Lowe to take the win, ending the night with three runs on six hits and 4 K’s. Jonathan Broxton threw the eighth before Saito closed out the ninth in 1-2-3 fashion, all strikeouts.
The win gives the Dodgers their first back-to-back victories in over two weeks. They play in front of a national TV crowd again on Sunday on ESPN, with Brad Penny facing Jason Marquis. Penny is looking for his first win in six starts and Marquis is 3-3 this season, 2-1 against the Dodgers lifetime. Angel Berroa is also expected to make his debut with the Dodgers tonight, taking over for Chin-lung Hu until Furcal is healthy enough for return.
