Sele Doesn’t Mind Being a Role Player for Winner

Aaron Sele was a reluctant reliever when the Angels stashed him in the bullpen at the beginning of the 2004 season, but he doesn’t seem to mind being the odd man out of the Dodgers’ starting rotation after they acquired Greg Maddux for a playoff push. At least not yet.

“It’s only been a week,” Sele said before the Dodgers played Colorado on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. “I’m here, I’m having fun with it, we’re winning ballgames and really I’m just trying to contribute.”

Sele made his third relief appearance of the season Thursday, going 1 2/3 innings. He has pitched admirably since being promoted from triple-A Las Vegas in early May, going 7-4 with a 3.98 earned-run average.

Manager Grady Little called the decision to keep Mark Hendrickson in the starting rotation while moving Sele to the bullpen difficult “because we felt very good about the way Sele’s been since he’s been with our ballclub.”

Hendrickson, the only left-hander in the Dodgers rotation, has struggled, winning only one of seven starts, and could switch places with Sele if he continues to falter.

Little said Sele was “ready to go at a moment’s notice to take over for any starter who needs help.... His role would be called long relief right now, but mostly we call him our sixth starter. He’s a starting pitcher waiting for another opportunity to help us.”

Sele, who has appeared in relief only eight times in his 359 career major league games, said he was ready to fill whatever role the Dodgers needed.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do,” Sele said. “I’m here, I’m going to try to contribute and be positive. When they give me a chance to pitch, I’m going to pitch and have fun with it. We’re winning ballgames, we’re making up ground and we have a big six weeks coming up. Hopefully, I’ll be able to add something to that.”

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Little said he spoke with his players about their inability to execute rundown plays after third baseman Wilson Betemit chased Matt Holliday too far toward home plate in the ninth inning Wednesday and flipped the ball to catcher Russell Martin at the last second, the ball getting away from Martin and allowing Holliday to score an insurance run.

“He fit right in with the way we do rundowns,” Little joked of Betemit. “He’s a Dodger. He thought he could catch him and it looked like Olmedo [Saenz] trying to catch me in a footrace; he just couldn’t quite do it.”

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Little held J.D. Drew out of the starting lineup as a precaution after the right fielder strained his left quadriceps muscle in the third inning Wednesday when he charged a sinking liner off the bat of Cory Sullivan.

“Hopefully, we nabbed it in time to not let it blow up too bad,” said Drew, who pinch-hit Thursday and grounded out. “It doesn’t feel terrible at all, so I’m very optimistic.”

Drew said he wanted to be careful given his history of aggravating similar injuries.

He recalled playing one day after suffering another quadriceps strain when he was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals and tearing the muscle to the point where he had to sit out about two months.