Streaking Beltre Is Glad to Be Feeling Good

Adrian Beltre finished Friday night’s 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres with a healthy 11-game hitting streak and a .298 average.

The Dodgers’ 23-year-old third baseman said that should come as no surprise. Last year he was recovering from two surgeries: a botched appendix procedure that was performed in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 12, and a follow-up surgery on March 12 in the United States that was done to repair the damage.

He opened the season on the disabled list and finished with a .265 batting average, 13 home runs and 60 runs batted in.

“Last year, I was trying to get back the feeling of being healthy while I was playing every day,” Beltre said. “This year, I am completely healthy.”

Beltre, in his third season as the Dodgers’ starting third baseman, extended his streak with a triple in the fourth inning against Brian Lawrence. Beltre hit a fly ball to left field that cleared the fence, but left fielder Ron Gant leaped and gloved the ball as he crashed into the fence. The force of the collision caused Gant to drop the ball and Beltre steamed into third.

“I’ve been swinging a lot better the last 12 days,” said Beltre, who is 15 for 41 during the streak with two home runs, a triple, two doubles and four RBIs. “I’m getting deeper into counts and getting good pitches to hit.

“When you have a streak, it’s kind of motivating. You always want to get a hit, but when you have a streak going, you concentrate even more.”

*

Rookie shortstop Cesar Izturis committed his first two errors of the season Thursday against the Padres, but he was unfazed Friday.

“That’s going to happen,” Izturis said. “What happened last night is the past. I don’t really think about the past.

“But I’m glad we won the game because if we had lost, that would have been tough.”

Manager Jim Tracy said he was not worried about his 22-year-old shortstop.

“I don’t think that’s something you’re going to see on any kind of a regular basis, so if you were here [Thursday], I guess you afford yourself the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, I saw him make two errors in one game once.’”

TONIGHT

DODGERS’

ODALIS PEREZ

(1-1, 2.61 ERA)

vs.

PADRES’

BOBBY JONES

(1-0, 2.92 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 7

TV--Channel 13.

Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

Update--Perez has been impressive in all three of his starts. On Monday, he pitched the first complete game of his career as the Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies, 5-2, at Coors Field. It was only the 20th complete game by a visiting pitcher at Coors Field. Jones gave up two runs in six innings against the San Francisco Giants last Friday but did not figure in the decision in the Padres’ 4-3 victory.

Tickets--(323) 224-1448.