Bone Spur Doesn’t Stop Beltre

Adrian Beltre has elected to continue playing with a bothersome bone spur in his left ankle rather than undergo surgery that would sideline him for up to a month.

The Dodger third baseman is expected to have the spur removed after the season.

“It’s not something he can’t deal with or we can’t manage,� Manager Jim Tracy said Thursday before the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. “Our medical people don’t feel he needs to come out of the lineup in order for them to treat it, so he’s not coming out.�

Beltre left Thursday’s game in the fifth inning after fouling a ball off his left ankle. X-rays were negative, but Beltre received a cortisone injection and is listed as day to day. He extended his hitting streak to 16 games with an infield single in the second.

Trainer Stan Johnston said Beltre could play with the spur, the result of repeated foul balls off the ankle, as long as the pain was bearable and Beltre did not risk injuring himself further. Rest alone would do little to alleviate the discomfort, Johnston said.

“The thing about the spur is that when it gets lodged in a specific area of his ankle, it makes it very uncomfortable,� Tracy said. “That’s not to say the thing can’t move around, and if it moves itself out of that area, which a lot of times it does, then he obviously doesn’t have any problems at all. Right now, it’s sitting in a very uncomfortable spot for him.�

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Odalis Perez echoed the sentiments of several teammates by calling Tracy’s decision to make Wilson Alvarez a permanent member of the rotation “perfect,� though Perez wondered aloud why it hadn’t been done earlier.

“In spring training, he really deserved to be a starter,� Perez said of his teammate. “He’s one of the guys who, when he’s out there, he’s tough.�

Alvarez (2-0) has not given up a run in 14 2/3 innings during his two starts, extending his scoreless streak to 17 1/3 innings and continuing a run of strong starts dating to last season.

Tracy said he did not regret his decision to stash the 34-year-old in the bullpen to start the season.

Tracy said he needed Alvarez in the bullpen early to avoid overusing Tom Martin, the team’s only other left-handed reliever, and to provide stability in the middle innings with Guillermo Mota slowed coming out of spring training by a sore triceps.

Alvarez’s ability “never, ever had anything to do with it,� Tracy said. “We knew what he was capable of. As matter of fact, we knew in spring training that he was one of our better pitchers.�

ON DECK

Opponent -- Cincinnati Reds, three games.

Site -- Dodger Stadium.

TV -- All games on Channel 13.

Radio -- KFWB (980), KWKW (1330).

Records -- Dodgers 22-11, Reds 17-17.

Record vs. Reds -- (2003) 4-2.

Tonight, 7 -- Kazuhisa Ishii (5-1, 3.76) vs. Paul Wilson (4-0, 4.43).

Saturday, 7 p.m. -- Odalis Perez (2-1, 3.63) vs. Todd Van Poppel (1-1, 4.50).

Sunday, 1 p.m. -- Jeff Weaver (2-4, 4.84) vs. Aaron Harang (3-1, 4.89).

Tickets -- (323) 224-1448.