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Former Miami pitcher creating a buzz with L.A. Dodgers

John Ely will be with the team when they come to Cincinnati this week, but isn’t expected to start.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher John Ely throws to the plate during the first inning of their Major League Baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, May 6, 2010, in Los Angeles.

Mark J. Terrill/AP Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher John Ely throws to the plate during the first inning of their Major League Baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, May 6, 2010, in Los Angeles.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 12:51 AM Sunday, June 13, 2010

OXFORD — When former Miami University pitcher John Ely was called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers in late April, the general reaction was “Who on earth is John Ely?”

Within a couple weeks, headlines were rattling the West Coast that “Ely Mania is alive and well” and “Elymania arrives at Chavez Ravine.”

When Ely gave up two home runs in the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 6-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on June 6 — he had not allowed a homer in his first 50 innings as a big-leaguer — anyone wading through the hysteria on Twitter might have perceived that the Big One finally had cracked open the San Andreas fault.

“I didn’t expect anything like that to catch on,” Ely said. “I try to keep my head above all of that. I guess it’s pretty cool.”

His fans would tend to agree, because the Dodgers were 8-12 before his arrival and — as of Saturday, June 12 — were 28-13 after his arrival. He recently had a streak in which he faced 86 straight batters without allowing a walk or an extra-base hit.

Ely was scheduled to pitch late Saturday night against the Angels, and he and the Dodgers are coming to Cincinnati to face the Reds on June 15-17. Alas, he is not expected to start any of the three games at Great American Ballpark.

Bad news for Ely fans. Good news for the Reds.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.

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