BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Piazza Goes on Disabled List

Dodger fans won’t see their All-Star catcher play his first home game until June.

The Dodgers said Thursday that Mike Piazza, who was batting .537 with four homers and 13 runs batted in, has a torn ligament in his left thumb and put him on the 15-day disabled list. Piazza suffered the injury Wednesday when he tripped rounding first base.

He will be eligible to play again May 26 and could be playing his first home game June 2 against the New York Mets. Piazza sat out the Dodgers’ only home series in April, against the Atlanta Braves, because of a strained right hamstring.

“The whole thing stinks, especially the way I was hitting,” Piazza said. “I don’t ever remember being that confident at the plate in my life. . . . Now, I won’t even be able to hold a bat for two weeks.”

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the injury, he said, was how it occurred. He hit a line drive off the right-field fence at San Diego, and while he looked up to see if it was fair, he stumbled and broke the fall with his left hand.

Piazza will be replaced in the lineup by Carlos Hernandez. The Dodgers have yet to add another player but are expected to bring back catcher Noe Munoz, designated for assignment 10 days ago.