Piazza’s Tear Rips Phillies, Wallach’s Troubles Dodgers : Baseball: Catcher has seven RBIs in 9-1 victory; torn knee ligament sidelines third baseman indefinitely.

The Dodgers, trying to purge all of the memories of their gruesome trip, returned home in first place Sunday night after their 9-1 laugher over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Catcher Mike Piazza put on one of the finest hitting exhibitions in the history of Veterans Stadium, going four for four with two home runs, two doubles and a career-high seven runs batted in.

Starter Kevin Tapani (2-1) pitched his finest game as a Dodger, yielding five hits in eight innings.

Yet, few in the Dodger clubhouse were in the mood for celebrating.

The Dodgers were informed that they might be playing the rest of the season without veteran third baseman Tim Wallach. Wallach suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that will sideline him indefinitely.

Dr. David Rubenstein, who examined Wallach on Sunday, said the normal recovery period for the average person is three months, but that it’s possible that Wallach could return in early to mid-September. The best news is that a tear of the posterior cruciate, Rubenstein said, is not nearly as serious as the anterior cruciate.

Wallach will undergo an MRI today conducted by Dr. Frank Jobe to determine whether there is further damage, but Rubenstein said the ligament is completely torn.

“The fact of the matter is it’s a major injury,” Rubenstein said, “a major injury. The clinical exam shows it’s completely torn.

“For the average person, it takes 12 weeks to recover, but with therapy, and the Dodgers’ medical staff, they have the potential of getting the guy back three times as fast.”

The shame of the injury is that Wallach was starting to play the way he did a year ago, batting .344 on the trip and .409 in his last six games with six RBIs.

Yet, for at least a night, the entire team could have taken the night off and simply watched Piazza’s extravaganza.

Piazza, angered by criticism by some of his teammates questioning his defensive skills, lashed out by producing the finest game of his career. Piazza’s seven RBIs were two shy of the franchise record set by Gil Hodges in 1950, and one fewer than Ron Cey’s Los Angeles record set in 1974.

Piazza equaled the most RBIs by a player in the 25-year history of Veterans Stadium, previously accomplished by Johnny Bench, George Hendrick and Will Clark. It was the eighth time in his career he had a four-hit game, the 10th time he has had two homers in a game, and his fourth grand slam.

Oh, yes, welcome to the batting race. Piazza reached the necessary plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, and vaulted ahead of Tony Gwynn of San Diego with a .367 average, compared to Gwynn’s .357.

“It really hasn’t hit me yet; I’m still flying,” said Piazza, who is batting .483 with eight homers and 14 RBIs in his last seven games. “You just try to enjoy it as long as you can and ride the wave.”

The Dodgers (60-54) moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Colorado Rockies in the National League West with the victory, completing a 4-7 trip. The question now is whether the Dodgers can survive these last 30 games without Wallach.

Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, said he’ll wait until today’s exam before deciding whether he’ll try to trade for a third baseman. The Dodgers entertained preliminary trade negotiations last month with the Chicago White Sox about Robin Ventura. Terry Pendleton of the Florida Marlins also is available. If the Dodgers acquire a third baseman, it must be done by 9 p.m. Thursday for him to be eligible for the playoffs.

“It’s a tough blow to lose Tim for any period of time,” Claire said. “He means an awful lot to this team.

“But it’s uncertain how long he’ll be out for. I talked to Dr. Jobe, and he thought it might be anywhere from one week to two weeks. If we felt it was a three-week period, we’d look at all of our options.”

Wallach suffered the injury Saturday night in the fourth inning when he ran into the rolled-up tarp chasing Andy Van Slyke’s foul ball into the stands near third base. His knees hit the tarp at nearly full speed, and the rubber tarp offered little cushion from the aluminum cylinder.

“I just thought I just banged it and bruised it,” Wallach said. “The [ligament tear] was the last thing that entered my mind. It’s frustrating because I was just starting to swing the bat well.

“It could be a week, four weeks or six weeks; I really don’t know what to expect. I was just want to get back out there. I can play through pain.”

Said Piazza: “It’s tough because he’s been an inspirational leader for us the entire year. It’s going to set us back. I mean, it’s tough enough to win with him, much less without him.”

The Dodgers will go with Dave Hansen for the time being but will also try rookie Chad Fonville at third base. Fonville has not played the position on an everyday basis since high school, but the Dodgers are expected to try him at third base this week.

Wallach’s injury ended a bizarre trip for the Dodgers. They lost in Cincinnati, got swept in New York, swept the Montreal Expos, and avoided a four-game sweep to the Phillies.

Despite the 4-7 trip, and consecutive shellings to the Phillies, the fact is the Dodgers left Los Angeles with a two-game lead over the Rockies and still have a 1 1/2-game lead.

“I’m not pleased with the way we’ve played this trip,” Claire said before the game, “so you can’t say it’s encouraging.”