Dodgers bench Hudson for playoff opener

Orlando Hudson finally will get a chance to play in his first postseason game.

But the Dodgers second baseman will have to do it coming off the bench today when Los Angeles faces St. Louis in Game 1 of the teams’ National League Divisional Series.

Dodger manager Joe Torre announced Tuesday Ronnie Belliard will get the nod over the Darlington native.

“He doesn’t have as wide a range as Hudson does, but I think offensively he’s a little fresher right now,” Torre told reporters. “We asked O-Dog to do a lot of stuff early in the year. We’ll go day-to-day right now.”

Hudson has had his moments this season for the NL West champions. He hit .283 with nine homers and 62 RBI and also scored 74 runs.

Hudson also became the second Dodger since the team moved to Los Angeles to hit for the cycle when he did it in the team’s home opener against the Giants. The only other player to do it is Wes Parker in 1970.

But Hudson, who was selected to his second All-Star game, struggled in the second half of the season. He hit just .237 with two RBI in the final month, while Belliard shined after coming over from the Nationals on Aug. 30.

Belliard hit .444 with seven homers and 18 RBI in the final month of the season.

Hudson, who played more than 130 games for the first time in three seasons, gave no excuses for his play and supported Torre’s decision.

“Nobody has told me what I did or what I have done wrong. I just have to be ready to contribute whenever I get my chance,” Hudson said.

Hudson’s play at the end of the season cost him some at-bats and, in turn, some incentive money. He fell just one at-bat short of making all of the $4.62 million in incentives in addition to his $3.38 million base salary.

His late-season performance also has fueled speculation about his future with the club. The 31-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers and will be a free agent at the end of the season. But Hudson said he will worry about that later.

Right now, he’s just happy to get a chance to play in the postseason, something he missed out on in 2007 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He suffered a wrist injury late that season and watched as Arizona won the NL West and advanced to the NLCS before losing to Colorado.

“It’s been a lot of fun and this year has been a blessing already,” Hudson said. “Nobody expected me to make to the whole year and I got my God on my side so it is all good.”