short hops
OUT LOUD
"As far as a household name, yeah, he might not be up there with Albert [Pujols] and Mike [Trout], but he's every bit as valuable."
— Angels manager Mike Scioscia on injured shortstop Erick Aybar, who missed his first game of the season Friday night when he sat out Los Angeles' win over Detroit.
GAME OF NUMBERS
4
Consecutive games with a homer, through Friday, for Brian McCann, tying a Yankees record.
11
Strikeouts for the Pirates' Francisco Liriano in six innings Friday night.
FRAMED?
A.J. Ellis
Catcher, Dodgers
He was ejected in the seventh inning of Friday's game in St. Louis for arguing balls and strikes for his pitcher , saying plate umpire Mike Winters told him his "presentation" was poor. "People on blogs and websites can critique my framing, but I'm not going to take it from an umpire because it's not their job to do that," he said. "It's their job to call balls and strikes based on what comes through a strike zone."
