With the Dodgers being ranked 12th out of 16 NL teams in runs scored, today’s 7th inning had to feel like a “7th heaven”.

The Los Angeles Dodgers erupted late for 7 runs over their last 3 innings to defeat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 on Saturday afternoon from Dodger Stadium.

Neither team had a scoring chance until the bottom of the 3rd inning, when Juan Pierre reached on a 1-out bunt single against Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. Zambrano’s throw to first was wild, but Pierre did not move up 90 feet.

He did on Andre Ethier’s single, which put runners at 1st & 2nd with only 1 out.

Zambrano then ended the scoring threat by getting Jeff Kent to hit into an inning-ending doubleplay.

Los Angeles had another chance to score in the bottom of the 4th inning after Russell Martin reached 1st base on a bunt single. Martin was able to steal 2nd base during James Loney’s at bat, who popped out to Kosuke Fukudome in right center field for the 1st out.

Zambrano then struck out Matt Kemp before issuing an intentional walk to Blake DeWitt.

The move worked, as Zambrano got Chin-ling Hu to ground out to Derrek Lee at 1st base to end the scoring threat.

The Cubs scored the game’s first run in the top of the 5th inning after Kosuke Fukudome drew a lead-off walk against Dodgers starter Derek Lowe.

Geovany Soto then singled to put runners at 1st & 2nd with nobody out.

Mike Fontenot then laid down a sac bunt to move both Fukudome & Soto up 90 feet for Reed Johnson.

Johnson hit an RBI groundout, scoring Fukudome from 3rd base & gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

Chicago had another RBI chance with Soto at 2nd base, but Carlos Zambrano struck out to end the inning.

The Cubs added another run in the top of the 6th inning on Alfonso Soriano’s lead-off solo homer (15th of season, tied for 6th in NL) to give themselves a 2-0 lead.

Soriano has now homered in every active major league ballpark except for Arizona’s Chase Field.

The Dodgers got even in the bottom of the 6th inning after Jeff Kent hit a lead-off single against Zambrano. TV replays showed that Theriot’s throw beat Kent to Derrek Lee at 1st base, but the call stood.

It would end up being a huge turning point in the game, as Russell Martin connected for a game-tying 2-run homer (5th of season) to tie it 2-2.

Los Angeles had a chance to take the lead after Matt Kemp’s 1-out single. Kemp was able to steal 2nd base during Chin-ling Hu’s at-bat, who struck out to end the inning.

Carlos Zambrano walked off the mound in obvious anger & frustration after the 6th inning. If you thought that was Carlos’ worst tantrum of the day, wait until you see what he did after the 7th.

The Cubs re-took the lead after Mike Fontenot hit a lead-off ground rule double that just got out of reach of a diving Juan Pierre in left field.

Reed Johnson then singled to put runners at 1st & 3rd with nobody out.

Carlos Zambrano then helped his own cause with an RBI single, scoring Fontenot from 3rd base & gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead. Zambrano now leads all major-league pitchers with 6 RBI’s & is hitting .364 at the plate.

The Cubs had two chances to add another run with Johnson at 2nd base, but Alfonso Soriano flied out to Pierre in left field & Theriot grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

The Dodgers then proceeded to put together perhaps their best run-scoring inning of the entire season, which helped put the game away.

It all started with Juan Pierre’s 1-out single off Zambrano. The Cubs then made a couple of key defensive errors which helped the Dodgers rally bigtime.

Andre Ethier reached 1st bafe safely on a bad throw from Aramis Ramirez, which scored Pierre from 2nd base & tied the game 3-3. Ethier was able to advance to 2nd base on Ramirez’s error.

2 batters later, Russell Martin hit an RBI single to score Ethier from 2nd base & give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.

James Loney then singled before Matt Kemp provided the game’s biggest hit with a 3-run homer (5th of season) to give Los Angeles a 7-3 lead.

That home run ended Carlos Zambrano’s day, who went on a tirade with two Gatorade coolers in the Cubs’ dugout.

TV Cameras showed Zambrano kicking a Gatorade cooler & slamming it on the bench. Carlos then picked up a 2nd Gatorade cooler & threw it in the dugout area, then threw his cap to the ground in digust before walking downstairs to the visitors’ clubhouse.

Zambrano admitted after the game that he made a mistake to Kemp & that “it was my fault”.

Derek Lowe (4-5) picks up the win for the Dodgers after pitching 7 innings & allowing 3 runs on 6 hits.

Carlos Zambrano (8-2) takes the loss for the Cubs after allowing a season-high 7 runs on 13 hits in 6 2/3 innings of work.

Chicago now needs a win on Sunday to finish their West Coast trip with a winning record & to split their 4-game series with Los Angeles.

The Cubs & Dodgers will hook up for the final time this season on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, as righthander Jason Marquis (3-3, 5.02) will be opposed by Dodgers righthander Brad Penny (5-7, 5.45).

Marquis has a 2-1 record in 7 career starts against Los Angeles with a 2.25 ERA, which is the lowest earned run average out of any major league team he has faced during his career.

Marquis is also 1-0 in 3 career starts at Dodger Stadium with a 2.25 ERA.

Penny is 3-4 in 8 home starts this season with a 5.14 ERA. In 8 career starts against Chicago, Penny has a 3-2 record & a 2.42 ERA, which is his 2nd lowest earned run average out of any major league team he has faced during his career.

Signing off for now,