Beltre Looking to Earn His Keep in Second Half

Third baseman Adrian Beltre believes his best work is ahead of him, and he hopes the Dodgers still do too.

Beltre has been the club’s top run producer since the All-Star break, batting .291 with six home runs and 20 runs batted in. He has more homers and RBIs than Shawn Green, Brian Jordan and Eric Karros combined during that stretch, and has also shined defensively.

Beltre acknowledges he disappointed in the first half, batting only .238 with seven homers and 29 RBIs, but he’s not part of the problem now.

“It’s not how you start--it’s how you finish,” said Beltre, who had a run-scoring single in Saturday’s 8-6, 12-inning victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. “I was struggling in the first half, but I had to put that behind me.”

Beltre said he changed his approach at the plate after the break, relying on his hands more, and less on upper-body motion, to drive the ball. He has also made a major change off the field, recently becoming engaged.

Despite being frustrated with Beltre, the Dodgers declined to include him in potential trades before the non-waiver deadline. Executives from other teams said it would be risky for the Dodgers to give up on Beltre, 23, but he knows the club’s patience is running thin.

“I don’t want to be out of here, and that was one of the things that hit me [before the deadline],” he said. “I said to myself, ‘I better start doing better, because I don’t want to be [traded].’ I gave them a reason to think about trading me because I wasn’t [playing well]. I don’t want to give them that reason again.”

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Alex Cora started at shortstop Saturday and continued to deliver in an impressive season, getting a run-scoring double.

Manager Jim Tracy plans to use Cora more down the stretch, cutting into the playing time of middle infielders Cesar Izturis and Mark Grudzielanek. The Dodgers are still pleased with the smooth-fielding Izturis despite his problems at the plate, but they need production.

“I’ve said it since spring training, that Cesar Izturis is here to continue to develop offensively,” Tracy said. “Defensively, we felt, and still feel, he’s off the charts. But it’s not May, it’s August, with [52] games to play.

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Fox-TV reported Saturday that the Dodgers discussed team problems in a players-only meeting before the game. But they actually met to empower player representative Paul Lo Duca to act on their behalf in upcoming labor matters.

TODAY

DODGERS’

OMAR DAAL

(8-6, 4.12 ERA)

vs.

PHILLIES’

BRETT MYERS

(1-1, 4.91 ERA)

Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, 10:30 a.m. PDT

TV--Channel 13.

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

Update--Daal faces his former team for the first time since being traded to the Dodgers in November for two minor league pitchers. The left-hander clashed with Philadelphia Manager Larry Bowa. Myers, a promising rookie right-hander, is making his third start since being recalled from triple A.