DODGERS INSIDE LOOK: BELTRE'S SURGE SECOND TO NONE DODGERS THANKFUL FOR THIRD BASEMAN'S POST-ALL-STAR SWING.

Byline: Matt McHale Staff Writer

For Adrian Beltre, this has become a September to remember. Not only does he lead the National League with 22 hits this month, Beltre has sparked the Dodgers' offensive awakening with an 11-game hitting streak.

A night after hitting two home runs in a victory over San Diego, Beltre added two hits Saturday in the Dodgers' 4-0 victory over the Padres.

Since early July, Beltre has raised his average nearly 40 points and finally overcome his annual first-half slump that helped threatened the Dodgers' season.

At that point, the team was trying to trade him, but with arbitration eligibility this winter he scared teams off because his $3.7 million salary could be pushed above $5 million next year no matter how badly he did.

``I think he has cleared his head, stopped putting pressure on himself and remembered how much fun this can be,'' Dodgers coach Manny Mota said. ``The team is in the race, and there is no time to worry about the other stuff.''

Beltre, still just 23, doesn't like to talk about his recent success because it always raises the question: Why don't you ever do this in the first half?

He is a career .277 after the All-Star break, .255 before. Last year, Beltre had 14 homers and 46 RBI in the second half, seven homers and 29 in the first.

This season, he has 14 homers and 49 RBI since the break. With two more hits Saturday, Beltre is batting .488 (22 for 45) during his 11-game streak, and the Dodgers are 8-3 during that stretch.

Another reason for his success has been an ability to adjust at the plate. He came into Saturday's game 1 for 7 lifetime against Padres starter Jake Peavy. But after striking out in his first at-bat, Beltre shortened his stroke and singled to center in the third inning, moving Fred McGriff into scoring position.

In the seventh inning, Beltre fell behind 1-2 in the count against right- hander Luther Hackman. He fouled off several pitches before lining a single to center.

The turnaround has raised the possibility that Beltre should play winter ball in his native Dominican Republic during the offseason. Players used to use winter ball to get a jump on the season, so by the time spring training comes around, it feels like July.

``I don't think that's the answer,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said. ``This guy plays day in and day out. He rarely needs a day off. To do all that in a course of a season and then go play winter ball, I don't know that would be overly conducive to the situation.''

What Beltre needs is more consistency, like he has shown the past few weeks.

In his first at-bat Friday, Beltre opened the second inning by crushing a Kevin Jarvis fastball into the stands in right center, making Mota ecstatic. He said Beltre now is relaxed enough to hit the ball to the opposite field.

``He has power to all fields, and when he goes with the pitch, he is really dangerous,'' Mota said.

Beltre added his second homer Friday in the eighth inning, a 451-foot shot deep into the stands in left field. It was his fourth career multihomer game and second this year. The other was Sept. 5 at Colorado. He also hit a walk-off three-run homer in the 10th inning Aug. 20 vs. Montreal.

``When you see something like (Friday), it's very encouraging because it's something that will make him an even better offensive player than what he's already capable of being,'' Tracy said. ``This guy has tremendous power to all fields. As I said last night, to take a ball that's from the middle or to outer third of the plate and drive it out of the ballpark. Those count the same as they do to the left side of second base.

``This guy's capable of 30-plus home runs. He's the kind of player that's very capable.''

Matt McHale, [phone]

matt.mchale(at)dailynews.com