Dodgers love field trip

CHICAGO -- Do you believe in curses?

How else do you explain what happened Thursday night at Wrigley Field, where the National League's best defensive team suddenly turned into the worst?

The Dodgers turned two errors by the Chicago Cubs into five second-inning runs that broke open Game 2 of their NL division series, as a horrified crowd of 42,136 fans watched Mark DeRosa on his knees trying in vain to shuffle the ball to second base and Derrek Lee circle 360 degrees to find a ball that eluded his grasp.

Behind 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball by Chad Billingsley, the second long home run in as many days by Manny Ramirez and errors by every player in the Cubs' infield, the Dodgers cruised to a 10-3 victory and took a 2-0 in the best-of-five series, a lead no NL team has ever blown in a division series.

The Cubs, who have never won a playoff game west of Chicago, will have to win twice in Los Angeles to have a chance to prevent their World Series drought from extending to 101 years.

"I don't think you can win 97 games playing that way," Cubs Manager Lou Piniella said. "It wasn't good baseball. In fact, the last two days, they've probably been the two worst games we've played all year from a walking and errors standpoint."

The Dodgers turned three of the Cubs' errors into five runs, capitalizing on the home team's inability to catch and throw the ball much the way they capitalized on starter Ryan Dempster's seven walks the previous day.

"That's the name of the game right now," Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier said. "Whatever things happen, you have to be able to take advantage."

By doing so, the Dodgers quieted a crowd at Wrigley Field that started the game on its feet and roared with Carlos Zambrano when he struck out Ramirez and pumped his fist to end the first inning.

The Cubs' season started to unravel in the second with a single by Ethier to left. James Loney slapped the ball toward short on a hit-and-run. Shortstop Ryan Theriot was breaking toward second base and tried to barehand the ball, which deflected into left field.

Matt Kemp struck out with men on the corners to bring up Blake DeWitt, who hit what looked like an inning-ending double play ball to DeRosa. But the second baseman couldn't hold onto it and his flip to Theriot at second was wide of the bag. Ethier scored and the Dodgers were up, 1-0.

"I knew when I hit it that if he made the play, it'd be tough to beat out," DeWitt said. "I just put my head down and ran. When I looked up, everyone was safe."