Ellis struggles again, but 51s bail him out

Steve Addy

Tuesday, April 23, 2002 | 9:33 a.m.

Like a golfer eyeballing his putter after missing a tap-in, 51s righthander Robert Ellis couldn't resist a glance at the left field wall Monday night as he trudged to the dugout.

With the bases loaded and nobody out in the fifth inning, Ellis thought he had made a great pitch to Tacoma's Greg Connors.

But Connors liked it even better, clubbing it for a grand slam and putting an end to another head-scratching outing for Ellis at Cashman Field.

The 51s rallied from three runs down to win 10-9, their third victory in Ellis' four starts, but he's done little to aid their cause. After making 17 starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks last year to earn a World Series ring, the 6-foot-5 Ellis is struggling in his first stop in Las Vegas.

Tacoma scored all nine of its runs during Ellis' four-inning stint.

"I stayed away from (Connors) with three sliders in a row and I figured I had him leaning out over the plate, so I'd throw a sinker down and in and get him to ground to third," Ellis said. "But he golfed it out. I mean, that was a good pitch and the guy did a good job of hitting it.

"I'm not making good pitches early in the count or when I get behind. When I'm ahead in the count, I'm doing a (expletive) job of putting guys away."

Ellis went 6-5 with a 5.77 ERA for the D'backs last year, but the Dodgers' free-agent signee has been awful for the 51s. He's only 0-1, but has allowed 20 earned runs in 20 innings for a 9.00 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting .333 (27-for-81).

"The guys are seeing that I'm struggling and they're picking me up," said Ellis, a 31-year-old Louisiana native. "Now it's my turn to pick these guys up for a few games."

Manager Brad Mills admits he's baffled by Ellis' rough start.

"He's a better pitcher than that. He's got better stuff than that," Mills said. "Probably most of it is location. He's got to have a little more confidence in his stuff. I've got confidence in his stuff and I know the team does.

"This is something he could turn around with a couple of good innings. That would give him something to build on. But he's getting behind hitters too much."

Ellis sustained an arm injury in spring training, but said that isn't causing his struggles. Nor is he sulking about being back in triple-A after spending most of last season in the majors, where he won his first three starts for the D'Backs.

"This is my time to get my arm back in shape and show that I can pitch in the big leagues again," Ellis said. "Obviously I'm showing that I'm not ready, but by no means am I going to quit."