DODGERS NOTEBOOK: BELTRE SLOWED BY HAMSTRINGS.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Adrian Beltre's brain says he should run, try to stretch that single into a double, but his legs urge caution.

Beltre, the Dodgers' hot-hitting third baseman, has sore hamstrings, which are making it difficult for him to play at full speed. Beltre took one game off during the weekend series in Montreal but was back in the lineup Tuesday against Florida, playing through pain.

``It's definitely not 100 percent yet, so I have to play smart,'' Beltre said. ``I'm the kind of guy who wants to play hard, run out every ground ball because you never know what's going to happen. If I'm on first and somebody hits a double, I would like to score, and those things are tough to do because it's hard to force my legs like that.''

Under normal circumstances, a player might take two or three games off to recover, but Beltre is one of the Dodgers' top hitters and seems comfortable in the No. 3 spot in the batting order. Beltre, whose starting job was rumored to be in jeopardy this summer, has raised his average from .235 on July 19 to .267 entering Tuesday.

Because of that surge, Beltre has resisted the temptation to come out of the lineup.

``Not unless it gets a lot worse in the next couple days,'' Beltre said. ``Hopefully, in the next couple days it will get better so I can go back to feeling like myself. It's harder because I've been on base a lot. It's a good thing to be on base a lot, but that can be tough on my legs.''

--Still out: Marquis Grissom started in left field for the Dodgers in place of Brian Jordan again Tuesday, even though Jordan is healthy and expressed his displeasure over being on the bench to manager Jim Tracy on Sunday.

Jordan is almost certain to start today, because Grissom will move to center field in place of Dave Roberts, who does not start against left-handed pitchers. Grissom has started 11 consecutive games and had at least one hit in each of them entering Tuesday.

``It doesn't have anything to do with Brian,'' Tracy said. ``I have the utmost respect for Brian Jordan as a professional and for the mindset he's helped bring to this club. He will be in the lineup (today). I can't take Marquis Grissom out of the lineup. I can't do it. That's just the fact of the matter.

``How can I take a guy who's one of the hottest hitters on the club right now and sit him down?''

--Not so fast: The Dodgers continue to proceed cautiously when it comes to returning Kevin Brown to the rotation. Brown was available for long relief Tuesday in case starter Kazuhisa Ishii, who has struggled in the early innings this season, ran into trouble against Florida.

Tracy didn't sound ready to abandon the Brown-in-the-bullpen scenario yet, even as the Dodgers push for the playoffs.

``The way he responded this weekend, having thrown a bullpen (session) on Sunday after pitching in the game on Friday,'' Tracy said, ``I could foresee myself entertaining the thought of (using him in) in an every-other-day situation.''

--In memory: The Dodgers honored former catcher John Roseboro, who died Friday, with a moment of silence before Tuesday's game, and former manager and current team vice president Tommy Lasorda recalled the kindness and talent that Roseboro brought to the organization.

``Just a great man,'' Lasorda said of Roseboro, a four-time All-Star who won three World Series titles with the Dodgers. ``He was just a quiet guy. You never heard his voice, you never heard him holler, he never tried to take credit for the win. He just came in, put on his stuff, and went out on the field and gave it his fullest.''

DODGERS vs. FLORIDA

Time: 7:10 p.m., Dodger Stadium.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; 1110-AM, 1330-AM (Spanish).

Matchup: Dodgers LH Omar Daal (10-6, 3.72 ERA) continues to be the Dodgers' most consistent starter over the second half of the season. In his last five starts, Daal is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA, but he makes his first start against the Marlins this season. Florida LH Michael Tejera (8-5, 3.88 ERA) faced the Dodgers in his first major-league appearance in 1999. He is winless in thee starts on the road this season.

- Rich Hammond

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DODGERS vs. FLORIDA (see text)