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Dodgers’ Casey Blake rests tight hamstring

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Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake did not start for the third consecutive game Monday to rest a tight hamstring in his right leg.

“We’re making sure we kind of get out of the woods with this thing,” said Blake, 35, who has a team-leading nine home runs.

“I don’t want to get out there and tweak it again and have to go” on the disabled list, he said.

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With the Dodgers holding a comfortable lead in the National League West, “right now we have somewhat of a luxury to where we can take a little time off right to err on the side of caution and try to be smart about it,” Blake said.

Blake did take batting practice Monday and struck out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning.

Manager Joe Torre also rested shortstop Rafael Furcal, 31, after the Dodgers’ long night returning from their series against the Chicago Cubs. After a “four-hour plane ride last night, then a short night’s sleep and all that stuff, we decided just to give him tonight [off],” Torre said.

Juan Castro started at shortstop Monday.

After beating the Cubs, 8-2, at Wrigley Field on Sunday night to earn a 2-2 split in the teams’ four-game series, the Dodgers immediately flew home.

“We landed about 2:20 a.m., by the time I got home it was about 3:15, 3:20,” said Mark Loretta, who started for Blake at third base Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“It was tough, it was a long trip,” he said. “It’s good we had a win.”

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Manny’s votes

It looks as if baseball Commissioner Bud Selig won’t have to worry about how to handle Manny Ramirez’s presence at the All-Star game.

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The Dodgers outfielder, suspended for 50 games for violating baseball’s drug policy, dropped to fifth place among outfielders in the second update of fan balloting for the National League’s starting lineup.

Ramirez trailed Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, Philadelphia’s Raul Ibanez, the Chicago Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano and the New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran in the voting. Ramirez was nearly 135,000 votes behind Soriano for the third spot.

Ramirez’s 635,530 votes were the most for any Dodgers player. Orlando Hudson was second in the balloting at second base, but he trailed leader Chase Utley of the Phillies by more than 625,000 votes.

Ramirez’s suspension is scheduled to end July 3, and if he were voted onto the NL team for the July 14 All-Star game in St. Louis, baseball’s collective bargaining agreement gives Selig little power to prevent him from playing.

That would be a public-relations nightmare for Selig and baseball, who would see one of their jewel events overtaken by discussion of performance-enhancing drugs.

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols leads all NL vote-getters with 1.240 million.

San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez, who leads the majors with 20 homers, has only 220,080 votes and is fifth in the balloting at first base.

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The Mets’ David Wright leads at third base -- Blake is not in the top five -- Florida’s Hanley Ramirez is tops at shortstop and the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina leads at catcher, where Russell Martin ranks fifth.

Fans can vote on the All-Star starters through midnight July 2.

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Times staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.

james.peltz@latimes.com

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DODGERS TONIGHT

VS. ARIZONA

When: 7.

Where: Dodger Stadium

On the air: TV: Channel 9; Radio 790, 930.

Pitchers: Randy Wolf vs. Dan Haren.

Update: Wolf beat Haren at Chase Field in Phoenix on April 12 when the Dodgers won, 3-1, and Wolf is 7-3 lifetime against the Diamondbacks with a 4.34 earned-run average. Wolf also was sharp in his last outing, giving up only one run in seven innings in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. Haren is 3-4 lifetime against the Dodgers with an ERA of 4.46.

-- Jim Peltz

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