BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Piazza’s Two-Strike Approach Pays Off

Rookie catcher Mike Piazza leads the Dodgers with 33 runs batted in, eight home runs and a .330 batting average.

Piazza’s statistics are better than every catcher in the National League, except the Phillies’ Darren Daulton. Is Piazza thinking about a possible spot on the All-Star team?

“Yeah, you think about it, but you try not to dwell on it,” Piazza said. “If you get it, great. If not, you get three days off (during the All-Star break), which is something I’d like. So it’s nothing that’s going to drive you. But it would be a nice honor if it happens.”

Piazza never hit better than .277 in three minor league seasons before hitting .377 in 31 double-A games and .341 in 94 triple-A games last season. He credits his improvement to his approach with two strikes.

“With two strikes, I’m laying back, trying to hit the ball to right, that sort of thing,” Piazza said. “It worked for me last year, and it seems to be working for me now.”

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Left-handed reliever Ken Dayley, signed to a minor league contract April 20 and assigned to Albuquerque, was placed on the inactive list Tuesday after leaving the Dukes because of personal problems. . . . Second baseman Jody Reed, who left Monday’s game after fouling a ball off his right foot, returned to the lineup. . . . Eric Davis, suffering from flu, was scratched for the second time in three games.