Beltre Stops the Badness

Damage control topped the agenda Sunday as the Dodgers ended a disappointing week at Chavez Ravine.

And after six consecutive losses stirred concern about where they were headed, the Dodgers moved in the right direction with a 10-5 interleague victory over the Angels.

Another sellout crowd of 54,333 at Dodger Stadium watched as the maturation of Adrian Beltre continued with impressive results.

The rising third baseman powered the Dodgers with two home runs -- Nos. 18 and 19 -- and five runs batted in as they salvaged a game in the three-game series against the Angels.

“Obviously, Adrian is having a great year,” center fielder Dave Roberts said. “He’s driving the ball with power.”

Beltre, who went three for five in his third multi-homer game of the season, did not hit his 19th homer last season until his 142nd game. He leads the team with 52 runs batted in, a total he had produced after 113 games in 2003.

“He’s coming of age, no question about it,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “We all knew what type of tools he has and what type of third baseman he is, but he’s not just doing it physically.

“He’s also stepped forward for us in a leadership role. That’s part of the growth process and it’s part of the patience process. ... He’s putting himself in position for a monster season.”

The Dodgers (38-35) remained in third place in the National League West, 3 1/2 games behind San Francisco and a half a game behind San Diego. The Angels (41-34) are in third in the American League West, trailing first-place Texas by 2 1/2 games and Oakland by a half-game.

Starter Kazuhisa Ishii also delivered as the Dodgers acknowledged they badly needed a victory with a three-game series against San Francisco beginning Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. Ishii (9-3) pitched six-plus innings, had a run-scoring single in a seven-run fourth inning and helped the Dodgers remain in the game until Beltre’s homers knocked out the Angels.

“We lost six in a row and the Giants are coming, so we couldn’t afford to lose seven in a row and then have them come to play us,” said Beltre, who has a .524 average (11 for 21) with three homers and nine RBIs in the last five games batting cleanup.

Beltre’s three-run shot to right field provided the biggest blow as the Dodgers matched their season high for runs in an inning and took command, 8-2. The barrage ended the day for Angel starter Bartolo Colon (5-7), who was tagged for eight earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. The struggling right-hander has a 6.17 earned-run average in the first year of a four-year, $51-million contract.

In the fourth inning, with Anaheim trailing, 5-2, Angel Manager Mike Scioscia left in Colon after Green had lined a run-scoring single off the back of Colon’s left knee. Beltre then connected against Colon, who threw 39 pitches in the inning and has a 7.66 ERA in his last 12 starts.

“Bart was having problems with his command before he got hit in the leg,” Scioscia said. “He was fine. He was probably worn down some because of his pitch count. His stuff is good. Right now, he’s a work in progress.”

Beltre, the Dodgers’ new everyday cleanup batter, added a two-run blast to left field in the sixth that finally helped provide a sense of comfort for the Dodgers against the Angels’ formidable batting order.

“Everyone always knew he had the potential,” first baseman Green said of Beltre. “People were really hard on him in the past, and now he’s showed everybody what he’s capable of.”

Green seemed to benefit from batting in front of the team’s most productive run-producer, going three for three with two runs scored and an RBI. The emergence of Beltre and Green’s performance might prompt Tracy to leave Green in the No. 3 spot and move Milton Bradley, who has sat out the last five games because of an injury and suspension.

Said Green: “It’s worked out this series. But it’s out of my hands.”

Tracy preferred to focus on the end of a bad stretch, not the batting order.

“Right now, what we need to do is just enjoy what we did today and move forward with it on Tuesday,” Tracy said. “But I really liked what I saw today. It goes without saying that we need those guys.”

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Dodgers vs. Angels

A look at how the Dodgers have fared recently against the Angels and upcoming schedule:

2004

*--* Date Site Score Att. * June 25 Dodger Stadium L, 0-13 54,617 * June 26 Dodger Stadium L, 5-7 52,715 * June 27 Dodger Stadium W, 10-5 54,333 * Friday Angel Stadium * Saturday Angel Stadium * Sunday Angel Stadium * 2004 at Dodger Stadium: Angels 2, Dodgers 1 * 2003 at Dodger Stadium: Dodgers 2, Angels 1 * All-time at Dodger Stadium: Dodgers 11, Angels 10 * 2004 record: Angels 2, Dodgers 1 * 2003 record: Angels 4, Dodgers 2 * All-time record: Angels 22, Dodgers 18

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