Beltre Is Now Double Tough

MIAMI — Adrian Beltre considers himself a rookie although he’s in his third season in the majors.

The young third baseman said he has much to learn, but his progress was evident again Friday night as the Dodgers rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Florida Marlins.

Beltre’s two-out, two-run, eighth-inning double provided the tying and go-ahead runs against reliever Braden Looper, helping the Dodgers win their third in a row before 16,467 at Pro Player Stadium. Chad Kreuter capped the three-run inning with a run-scoring single.

Closer Jeff Shaw had another eventful ninth inning but completed the victory and earned his 11th save. Shaw gave up two singles, and Mark Kotsay flied out to right fielder Shawn Green on the warning track for the final out with runners on second and third.

Rookie right-hander Matt Herges (2-0) struck out the side in the seventh in relief of starter Chan Ho Park.

Park pitched well but had problems in the sixth after giving up only one hit--Kevin Millar’s second-inning, solo home run--through five innings. Beltre did his best work in the eighth, and that’s what the Dodgers needed.

“We all know who our golden boy is, he’s our future,” said left fielder Gary Sheffield, who doubled and scored on Beltre’s eighth-inning double. “We all know what he can do, and what he’s going to do for this organization down the road.”

He’s doing a lot now.

With one out in the eighth, Sheffield hit a ground-rule double to right and Green was walked intentionally.

Sheffield and Green advanced on Eric Karros’ groundout, before Beltre hit an 0-1 sinker from Looper (0-1), sending the ball high off the wall in right-center.

“I was thinking, in that situation, they would put him on,” said Dodger Manager Davey Johnson, whose team improved to 22-17. “He really got it, I thought it was out.

“We all say the best is yet to come [with Beltre], but at times last year it seemed like he was the best hitter in my lineup. Now, you can see he isn’t over-swinging as much as earlier [in the season].”

Beltre said his big hit wasn’t a big deal.

“Any batter can do that,” said Beltre, who also doubled in the fourth. “You get up there like that [with runners in scoring position], that’s what you’re supposed to do.

“But I’ve been working hard to study how pitchers pitch me, what I should be looking for and trying to be patient. That’s what I’ve been trying to do, just hit good pitches.”

He’s following the plan well, coach Manny Mota said.

“He’s concentrating a lot more now,” Mota said of Beltre, 21. “He concentrated a lot in those two at-bats, and he got two doubles.

“You can see he’s staying back and not taking those long swings. He’s trying to make good contact each time, that’s what [batting coach] Rick [Down] and I notice.”

For a while, it appeared the Dodgers wouldn’t need late-inning hits with Park dominating again.

The right-hander began the sixth leading, 2-1, after the Dodgers scored twice in the fifth on Mark Grudzielanek’s run-scoring triple and Sheffield’s run-scoring single. Park was cruising to that point after pitching the best game of his career in his previous outing last Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Park worked eight strong innings and had a career-high 12 strikeouts in a 3-1 victory. He had outstanding command again Friday, controlling the tempo early with his sharp curveball and fastball.

Then came the sixth.

With one out, Park walked Luis Castillo. Kotsay tripled to center and Castillo scored to tie the score at 2-2. Kotsay scored the go-ahead run on catcher Kreuter’s passed ball.

“I obviously had a lot of confidence from my last game, but I made a mistake walking Castillo,” said Park, who gave up three runs in six innings. “But we won the game. That’s all that matters.”