Piazza Mad After Being Hit by Mota

The New York Mets will be in L.A. for a three-game series against the Dodgers on May 13-15. The mayor may want to alert the National Guard.

The teams exchanged heated words during a March 4 game when Met catcher Mike Piazza and Dodger left fielder Brian Jordan were hit by pitches, and Piazza sparked a bench-clearing incident Thursday after being drilled on the left hip by a Guillermo Mota 3-and-0 fastball in the seventh inning.

Piazza, who has been hit by four pitches this spring and had to sit out two games after being hit in the left hip Saturday against Montreal, came out of the game but remained on the Met bench, which is on the first-base side of Holman Stadium.

Mota was replaced to start the eighth inning, and when he walked past the Met dugout and toward the right-field line to return to the Dodger clubhouse, Piazza left the bench and walked with Mota, exchanging words with the pitcher.

Then Piazza grabbed Mota by the jersey and players from both benches swarmed the pair. No punches were thrown, order was restored, and Piazza and Mota proceeded to their respective clubhouses.

Mota declined comment, and Piazza showed restraint.

“I have no comment right now,” Piazza said. “You guys will have to draw your own conclusions. I have to sit tight, and once everything gets out, we’ll go from there.”

Met Manager Bobby Valentine was upset that Mota glared at Piazza after hitting him. “He hit Mike and was staring at him,” Valentine said. “What’s that all about?”

As for the scuffle, Valentine said, “That wasn’t like a fight. Mike could have taken his head off and thrown it [into the crowd] for a souvenir if he wanted to.”

Pitching coach Jim Colborn has been working with Mota, who came to the Dodgers from Montreal in a Saturday trade, to adjust his mechanics in an effort to get more movement on his blazing fastball.

“The kid is struggling with his control, it was a 3-0 count, and he was looking for a double play,” Colborn said. “The situation made it impossible to assume it was intentional.”

Colborn, who spent nine big league seasons with the Cubs and Brewers from 1970-78, said things were different when he pitched.

“We would regularly hit guys on purpose and throw at them, but there was a code for that,” Colborn said. “It was understood what was appropriate, and hitters weren’t as touchy. I guess if I’d been hit a few times in spring training I would be looking for a way to make it stop. [Piazza] chose to try to intimidate the last pitcher to hit him, but I don’t know what good it will do. He’s probably just frustrated.”