Piazza Hurts, Jordan Fumes After Incidents

The Dodgers and New York Mets turned Monday’s exhibition game into an episode of “The Sopranos,” with Met catcher Mike Piazza getting whacked by a pitch, Dodger left fielder Brian Jordan accusing Met Manager Bobby Valentine of ordering a hit on him, and both camps feuding about an early spring skirmish.

It began with Piazza, a nine-time All-Star, getting drilled on the left forearm by an Eric Gagne fourth-inning fastball that was headed for Piazza’s helmet. Piazza glared at Gagne for several seconds, but no words were exchanged. Though Piazza was pulled from the Dodgers’ 9-4 victory, his injury didn’t appear serious; the former Dodger escaped with a sizeable lump below his elbow.

Jordan then led off the top of the fifth against reliever Mark Guthrie, another former Dodger, and Guthrie’s first pitch backed Jordan off the plate. One strike later, Guthrie, a left-hander, came inside with a fastball that grazed Jordan’s thigh. Home plate umpire Lance Barksdale issued a warning, and there were no further hostilities, but Jordan was miffed after exiting the game.

“It’s too early for that,” said Jordan, the former Atlanta Brave who tormented the Mets with five home runs and 19 runs batted in last season. “I think [Guthrie] got the signal [to hit me] from Valentine. I respect [Guthrie] for not drilling me. He has to protect Piazza. But I’ll write that one down in my memory book.”

Valentine seemed almost amused by Jordan’s remarks. Guthrie, the Met manager noted, went right from the bullpen to the mound to start the fifth inning and did not confer with Valentine.

“I think [Jordan] is flattering himself,” Valentine said. “Did he get hit? I thought the pitch missed him. He thought there was a definite situation because there were two inside pitches. But what do they have, a microphone in my dugout? How exactly would I do that?”

Jordan wasn’t buying it. He knows the Mets were probably still smarting from his dramatic two-out grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning Sept. 29, a shot that capped a seven-run rally and gave the Braves an 8-5 victory, all but killing the Mets’ playoff hopes. And he knew when Piazza got hit, the Mets would respond.

Asked if he thought Valentine was the sole person responsible for him getting hit, Jordan said, “Yep. Valentine wanted to send a message.... As a manager you’ve got to protect your player, and Piazza is a big one to protect.”

Valentine’s response?

“Good,” he said. “Let everybody know we’re going to protect our guys. No doubt, our pitchers know Mike is a very valuable part of our team. My guy got hit on the arm real hard, and he could have been hurt and sidelined for a while. Their guy got hit on the belt buckle.”

Guthrie claimed there was “no signal, no order” to hit Jordan. “The ball didn’t even hit him, unless it brushed his jersey,” Guthrie said. “I couldn’t tell.”

There was no question Piazza was hit. And hard.

“I wasn’t happy about it,” Piazza said. “It hurts. It’s not a pleasant experience to have a ball going toward your head and to get hit on such a chilly day. But I’m OK.”

Asked if Guthrie’s pitches to Jordan were in retaliation, Piazza gave the sly grin of a knowing veteran. “You’ve got to work both sides of the plate,” he said. “They were doing it, and we were doing it.”

Gagne, the 26-year-old right-hander who is competing with Odalis Perez and Omar Daal for the fifth spot in the rotation, was remorseful.

“You never want to see a Hall of Famer get hurt by a spring-training pitch,” said Gagne, who recovered to pitch three hitless innings. “I hope he’s all right. He knows I didn’t do it on purpose. I tried to throw a two-seamer too hard, and it got away.”

Jordan, meanwhile, just wanted to get out of Thomas J. White Stadium as soon as possible.

“It was a bad day all around,” he said. “I had my glove stolen off the bench before the game and then this.... Welcome to Port St. Lucie.”

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Perez looked sharp Monday, giving up no runs, one hit and striking out four in three innings. Perez also contributed to a five-run second inning with a run-scoring double.... Right fielder Shawn Green, slowed by a mild case of tendinitis in his left shoulder, will begin participating in throwing drills this week and hopes to play in an exhibition game by this weekend.... Pitchers Kevin Brown and Kazuhisa Ishii will throw simulated games Wednesday, and Andy Ashby, recovering from elbow surgery, will make his first exhibition start Wednesday against Florida.... The Mets and Dodgers will meet four more times this spring and play each other six times during the season.