Beltre Is Benched Again, Dodgers Win

The Dodgers are at their wits’ end with Adrian Beltre, and apparently the feeling is mutual.

The struggling third baseman was out of the starting lineup again Tuesday night as the Dodgers opened the trip with a 2-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds before 19,029 at Great American Ballpark.

Manager Jim Tracy turned away from Beltre, who is batting .190 with 13 strikeouts, for the fourth time in seven games, starting Mike Kinkade and summoning Ron Coomer in the seventh. Beltre finished at third in the ninth.

With the exception of Beltre, the Dodgers got off to a good start on the trip.

They tied the score, 1-1, in the seventh as Cesar Izturis drove in Kinkade, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, with a single up the middle, and cleanup batter Brian Jordan delivered a two-out single to right in the eighth to drive in leadoff batter Dave Roberts, who had singled and stolen second, with the go-ahead run.

The hot Dodger bullpen shined again, pitching three scoreless innings after starter Kazuhisa Ishii overcame early command problems and limited the Reds to a run in six innings. Closer Eric Gagne struck out former Dodger Juan Castro to end the game after issuing a two-out walk to Felipe Lopez.

Gagne struck out three and earned his fifth save, preserving the victory for Paul Shuey (2-1), who worked 1 1/3 innings. And then there’s Beltre.

The Dodgers insist Beltre remains in their plans despite his reduced role, but the clock is ticking and it’s time to produce. Beltre wonders how that can occur with him seated on the bench and negativity everywhere.

Manager Jim Tracy isn’t buying, saying the club continues to be supportive of the gifted but inconsistent player. Tracy wants Beltre to accept responsibility for his situation, something the Dodgers believe Beltre hasn’t done in four-plus seasons in the major leagues.

The chasm continues to widen between Beltre and Tracy.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Beltre said. “He told me he wants me to work on my offense, he wants me to get my offense going. OK, fine, but how am I going to do that from the bench?

“He told me Sunday he was going to give me the day off [against the San Francisco Giants], and I was probably going to be [starting] today, but I’m not and I don’t know why.”

Tracy offered a different version of events.

“There were no guarantees made that Tuesday would be the day, and I’m real good about remembering what I say to people,” Tracy said. “The words that I used were that we will get back to you. If I’m not mistaken, he’s hitting .190 right now.

“I’m not quitting on him. I don’t quit on players. I give them ample opportunities to get to where we want them to get. But then it does get to a point in time where it’s not so much about what’s going on in this office, it’s about what’s going to take place [on the field].”

Tracy added that there’s “no gray area” about what the Dodgers expect of Beltre: consistency.

“We’re paid for results here,” Tracy said. “I’m paid for results, he’s paid for results. Any other person that’s out there in this clubhouse is paid for results. The word is consistency.... No one gets picked on as long as Jim Tracy’s managing the Dodgers. I don’t do that to people.

“But I do, in a subtle way, try to hopefully get them to the point where they understand that we get paid in the major leagues for results. I’m not going to talk anymore about how young he is. This guy is working on five years [in the majors].”

The situation worsened Sunday as Beltre, benched before a 16-4 victory over the Giants, became emotional in a closed-door meeting with Tracy, team sources said. Encouraged to express his feelings, Beltre told Tracy that if the Dodgers are so frustrated with him, “there are 29 other teams out there.”

Beltre acknowledged his relationship with Tracy has been strained.

“A lot of things were said,” Beltre said. “I spoke my mind and he spoke his mind, but I was never disrespectful. I’m not going to get into it, but no player wants to be in this situation.”

Does Beltre want to be traded?

“I didn’t say that,” he said. “I want to stay here, no doubt about that, but I don’t know if they want to keep me.”