Rookie John Ely pitched seven strong innings and Blake DeWitt had two triples to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-2 victory over the visiting Houston Astros on Monday.

Ely (2-1) struck out eight and gave up two runs and five hits. He has 21 strikeouts and no walks in 19 2/3 innings over his last three starts.

The victory was the eighth in a row for the Dodgers. Houston has lost four consecutive games.

Los Angeles took a 4-1 lead in fourth on DeWitt’s triple and Jamey Carroll’s sacrifice fly.

DeWitt tripled a second time in the eighth to drive in Manny Ramirez and James Loney.

The Dodgers scored three first-inning runs on Loney’s sacrifice fly and Casey Blake’s two-run double.

Houston tallied in the first on Lance Berkman’s RBI-single and in the fifth on Pedro Feliz’s run-scoring single.

Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez pitched 6 2/3 innings while dropping to 2-5, a season after winning 14 games.