Thumb Kind of Reaction Puts Piazza on Bench

Met catcher Mike Piazza was unable to play in Game 3 of the division series Friday night because of what trainer Fred Hina described as an inflammatory response to a cortisone injection. Piazza got the shot for a sprained left thumb Thursday after the team’s return from Arizona.

“This is obviously very disappointing,” Piazza said. “I’ve had quite a few cortisone shots and would have been the last person to think this could happen. I mean, any other part of the body it might not be so bad, but it’s a critical area. I can’t put the glove on or grip the bat.”

Hina described the reaction as rare but said, “The good news is that typically in 48 to 72 hours the turnaround is pretty good.”

The Mets and Diamondbacks play in Game 4 this afternoon, which would leave Piazza doubtful, although he hasn’t been ruled out.

The former Dodger cited the normal wear and tear of his position and said he began experiencing discomfort in the thumb two weeks ago and that it got progressively worse.

“I didn’t feel I had 100% strength and wasn’t able to control the bat,” he said. “I told Fred that I thought we should take precautionary X- rays, and when the X-rays came back negative, we decided to get the shot to take the pain away. But I knew something was wrong when I got up this morning and there was so much more pain, swelling and sensitivity.”

Todd Pratt batted .293 with three homers as Piazza’s backup.

Said Piazza: “I like to think I’m a big reason we’re here, but I’m not the only reason. I have a lot of confidence in the guys. I think they’ll be OK.”

*

Jim Duquette, the Mets’ assistant general manager, was interviewed by a Disney official regarding the Angels’ general manager position. He refused to discuss the interview or speculate on where he stood in the process.

Today’s Pitchers

DIAMONDBACKS’ BRIAN ANDERSON

(8-2, 4.57)

vs.

METS’ AL LEITER (13-12, 4.23)

Shea Stadium, 10 a.m., PDT

TV--ESPN2

* Update--Leiter, 17-6 last year, was a disappointment after being retained by the Mets with a four-year, $32-million contract, but he won two big games in the final week of the regular season: a 9-2 victory over Atlanta and the 5-0 wild-card playoff win over Cincinnati. Anderson, a former No. 1 draft choice with the Angels, gave up only six earned runs in the 27 1/3 innings of his last four starts and can lean on the experience of six postseason appearances with Cleveland in 1997. “You can’t get caught up in the emotions,” Anderson said, “the peripheral things like being in the Big Apple, the things that have nothing to do with the game itself, the actual nitty gritty, the Xs and O’s. You have to have all your energies focused on the game.”