Fielding Saves Izturis

Shortstop Cesar Izturis ranged behind the second base bag for David Bell’s game-opening grounder, scooped it up and fired to first to retire the Giants’ leadoff batter Friday night.

That, in a nutshell, is why Izturis remains a Dodger starter despite his .231 batting average and National League-low .256 on-base percentage entering Friday night’s game.

“We’re not going to pick on Cesar Izturis, not when we have six guys swinging the bat like that,” Manager Jim Tracy said in response to a question about Izturis’ job status. “He wasn’t brought here to hit .300 this year. He’s 22, he’s a switch hitter ... he’s a sound, sound defensive player. I won’t even start talking about that.”

Izturis was batting .303 from the right side but .200 from the left side before Friday. Only one player in the major league’s, Kansas City’s Neifi Perez (.254), had a lower on-base percentage.

But Izturis has been the Dodgers’ best defensive player, so he remains in the big leagues while Felipe Lopez, the .226-hitting shortstop the Blue Jays kept instead of Izturis, was demoted to triple-A Syracuse on Thursday.

“Offense is offense, and I forget about it while I’m playing defense,” Izturis said. “That part of it hasn’t been hard.”

*

Darren Dreifort, continuing his comeback from elbow surgery, threw a two-inning, 41-pitch simulated game Friday, his second this week. The right-hander will throw one or two more simulated games in the next week to 10 days before embarking on a minor league rehabilitation assignment.

Though Dreifort didn’t feel he pitched as consistently Friday as he did Monday, “I felt like I could keep going--I didn’t feel tired or weak or anything else,” he said. “I have no problem airing it out. I cleared that hurdle long ago.”

Kevin Brown, who underwent surgery for a herniated disk in his lower back on June 11 and has been sidelined since May 27 because of back and elbow problems, will begin throwing off a mound Monday. “As soon as my body tells me I’m ready to go,” Brown said, “I will go.”

TODAY

DODGERS’

OMAR DAAL

(7-5, 4.29 ERA)

vs.

GIANTS’

RYAN JENSEN

(10-6, 4.40 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 1 p.m.

TV--Channel 11. Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

Update--After giving up three earned runs and 10 hits in 17 innings over a three-game span, Daal has been rocked for 12 runs and 14 hits in 9 2/3 innings of his last two starts, losses to St. Louis. Jensen, the rookie right-hander, has not given up a run in 13 2/3 innings against the Dodgers this season.

Tickets--(323) 224-1448.

Mike DiGiovanna