John Ely pitches Dodgers to eighth win in a row

Hard to say who’s been on a bigger high in recent days, rookie pitcher John Ely or the surging Dodgers overall.

Either way, neither is ready to come back down just yet.

The 24-year-old Ely turned in another outstanding start, Blake DeWitt and Casey Blake each had run-scoring extra-base hits and the Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros, 6-2, Monday night at Dodger Stadium for their eighth consecutive victory and 10th win in 11 games.

They did so on a cool, cloudy night without the services of the leading hitter in the National League, Andre Ethier, who sat out his third game in a row because of a broken bone in his right pinkie.

No matter, the Dodgers produced enough runs to give Ely the cushion he needed, and Jeff Weaver, George Sherrill and Ramon Troncoso blanked the Astros in the final two innings.

“It’s a lot easier to pitch with a lead,” Ely said. “It really makes you feel good as a pitcher to have that kind of support behind you.”

Before the game, the fidgety Ely sat in front of his locker turning circles in his chair, trying to release his nervous energy. Then he went out and largely pitched circles around the Astros in the first of a two-game series that opened a seven-game Dodgers homestand.

As is his style, Ely (2-1) worked fast, mostly stayed ahead in counts and kept the batters off balance by mixing pitches and speeds. He gave up only the two earned runs and, remarkably, has faced 84 consecutive batters without a walk, tops in the big leagues.

Put another way, Ely hasn’t walked a batter since his major league debut April 28.

“He was terrific,” Manager Joe Torre said. “He gave us seven innings, under 100 pitches. That’s pretty good. He throws strikes and changes speed, it’s not fun to hit against.”

Ely’s win mirrored his first victory, last Tuesday against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, when he gave up two earned runs in six innings in the Dodgers’ 13-3 win.

“I’m just going out there with the same game plan, trying to throw strikes and keep the ball down,” Ely said.

After Houston’s Lance Berkman singled home Michael Bourn to give the Astros a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Dodgers rallied with three runs in their half of the inning against left-hander Wandy Rodriguez (2-5).

With the bases loaded, Reed Johnson, playing right field for Ethier, scored on James Loney’s sacrifice fly. Blake, who began the game batting only .233, doubled down the right-field line to drive in Manny Ramirez and Matt Kemp.

The Dodgers added a run in the fourth inning when DeWitt tripled and scored on Jamey Carroll’s sacrifice fly. Houston got another run in the fifth inning when Hunter Pence singled, took second on Ely’s wild pitch and scored on a single by Pedro Feliz.

After Ramirez doubled against Brandon Lyon in the eighth inning and Loney was intentionally walked, both scored on DeWitt’s triple to right field.

Kemp also made a diving catch of a sinking fly ball hit by Humberto Quintero in the eighth inning.

james.peltz@latimes.com