Encarnacion on DL, Beltre Sits

The Dodgers will open the second half of the season without right fielder Juan Encarnacion and perhaps third baseman Adrian Beltre after putting Encarnacion on the disabled list Friday, retroactive to Sunday, because of inflammation in his left shoulder.

Even though a second MRI on Encarnacion’s shoulder detected no further deterioration than had been observed in an initial exam in May, the Dodgers decided their best option was to give the outfielder additional rest and recall Chin-Feng Chen from triple-A Las Vegas.

Beltre, who had to leave games Wednesday and Thursday because of a strained right thigh, will get six days off before the Dodgers determine whether to put him back in the lineup in their first game after the All-Star break, Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“It’s not a bad thing,” Manager Jim Tracy said of Beltre’s injury, “but if in fact we were to try to push this, then I think it could become something and we run the risk of possibly having the quad become more than just a strain.

“If you end up tearing the quad, now you’re looking at a significant period of time, and we’re not interested in taking that chance.”

There was better news when it came to Shawn Green, who was back in the lineup in right field Friday against the Houston Astros one night after leaving in the fifth inning after suffering a bruise on his left thigh when he was hit by a pitch.

Green said the Dodgers would not change their approach regardless of whether Beltre and Encarnacion, who is eligible to be activated July 19, returned shortly after the break.

“If they’re not healthy, they’re not healthy,” Green said. “We’re still going to go out and try to win.”

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Tracy said the Dodgers have not given up on the idea that Chen, the Taiwanese outfielder whose career has stalled somewhat since becoming the organization’s minor league player of the year in 1999 in his debut season, could develop into a legitimate major leaguer.

“He’s had some very good seasons from a power standpoint in the minor leagues,” Tracy said of Chen, who recently became Las Vegas’ career leader with 69 homers.

“I don’t think you ever think about giving up on somebody like that, which is why you’ve seen Chin-Feng Chen come back and forth to this team a couple of times already during the course of the first half of the season. That, in essence, is a jump from where he has been in the past, where he has been a September recall.”

Chen, who went hitless in three-at bats with a strikeout earlier this season with the Dodgers, is still seeking his first major league hit after going a combined 0 for 9 in parts of three seasons.

“The only thing I can try to do is to play hard and keep at it every day,” said Chen, who was hitting .306 with 17 homers and 56 runs batted in in 70 games this season for the 51s. “It feels good to think that they need me here.”

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Odalis Perez’s first bullpen session since going on the disabled list last week because of inflammation in his left rotator cuff exceeded expectations, pitching coach Jim Colborn said, perhaps indicating that the left-hander could be activated at the conclusion of the All-Star break. The Dodgers have kept pitcher Edwin Jackson on the roster as insurance against a setback for Perez, who is scheduled to throw in the bullpen again Sunday. ... Milton Bradley sat out his third game in four days because the Astros started left-hander Andy Pettitte and Bradley continues to experience discomfort batting right-handed. Tracy said the switch-hitter would resume batting right-handed after the All-Star break.