Dodgers Lose, but So What? : Baseball: Piazza returns today, meaning lineup will be at full strength for first time.

The Dodgers acted like kids on the last day of school. They giggled. They teased. They taunted. They did everything but stick thumbtacks on Manager Tom Lasorda’s chair.

Sure, so they lost to the New York Mets, 5-3, Saturday night in front of a paid crowd of 33,364 at Dodger Stadium.

So Dodger first baseman Eric Karros’ 17-game hitting streak ended.

So they were beaten by Met starter Dave Mlicki (3-1), who had won only one major league start in his career.

So Dodger starter Pedro Astacio’s most noteworthy feat was his third-inning double, the first of his career, raising his batting average to .067--to go with his earned-run average of 4.47.

Actually, what happened Saturday night didn’t matter a whole lot, because today is the moment they’ve been patiently awaiting since the end of the baseball strike.

All-star catcher Mike Piazza is back, and today is the first day they’ll have their first-string lineup on the field.

“I don’t think we can just say, ‘OK, now the division’s ours,’ ” Dodger pitcher Tom Candiotti said, “but I think the rest of the division has got to be worried.

“They’ve had their fun; now we’re going to have ours.”

The Dodgers played the first month of the season without third baseman Tim Wallach, and when Wallach returned, Piazza was on the disabled list because of a torn thumb ligament.

It wasn’t pleasant at times, and there were stretches when the Dodgers (16-20) wondered if they’d win another game, but they survived. They trail the San Francisco Giants by four games in the National League West and are at full strength, while the Giants will be playing the next two months without all-star third baseman Matt Williams, who suffered a broken foot.

“Maybe we didn’t win a whole lot of games with Mike gone, but we weren’t absolutely buried either,” Karros said. “I think we can be proud for what we’ve done.

“Obviously, Mike coming back is going to help us a lot.”

Piazza’s absence certainly could have been catastrophic without the play of Karros, who is batting .355 with nine home runs and 30 runs driven in. The Dodgers, in fact, plan to keep Karros in the cleanup spot for the time being and will bat Piazza fifth.

It’s impossible to know, of course, just how Piazza will fare in his first home game of the season. No one expects him to pick up a bat after a three-week layoff and continue hitting .537--he also had four homers and 13 RBIs in only 41 at-bats before the injury.

But yet. . . .

Piazza said: “I feel honored just to get back in this lineup, because considering the adversity we’ve been through, we’ve been playing extremely well.”

The Dodgers nearly lost another catcher in the seventh inning Saturday night when Tom Prince was clobbered in a home-plate collision that left him unconscious for two minutes. Prince suffered a mild concussion and spent the night at the Centinela Hospital Medical Center for observation.

“That hit scared the hell out of me, especially the way he went down,” said Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, who indicated that Prince will probably be put on the disabled list.

The Mets, who blew a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning, opened the seventh with Ryan Thompson’s single to left field. Jose Vizcaino sacrificed, and pinch-hitter Joe Orsulak lined a sharp single to right field. Third base coach Mike Cubbage gambled and waved Thompson home. Raul Mondesi, who has a league-leading seven assists, charged the ball and fired home.

The throw was up the line, and while Prince was waiting for the ball, he was run over by Thompson, an all-conference football player in high school. While Prince lay motionless on the ground, Thompson scored and Orsulak reached third. Brett Butler followed with a single off reliever Omar Daal, giving the Mets their 5-3 lead.