Pujols, Scioscia ejected after arguing strike

BOSTON -- First baseman Albert Pujols and manager Mike Scioscia were both ejected in the sixth inning of Thursday's game at Fenway Park for arguing balls and strikes with home-plate umpire Andy Fletcher.

Pujols was upset over a strike call on a 2-1 slider that appeared to be up and in, which preceded a strikeout, and voiced his opinion to Fletcher in the batter's box. But he wasn't thrown out until later, while standing near the bat rack.

Pujols said he "didn't say anything to him back from the dugout."

As he went to grab some water, he was informed by Mike Trout that he had been ejected for the sixth time in his career and the first since 2005.

"Andy's a great guy," Pujols said after the Angels' 2-0 win. "I let my emotions go, saying that pitch was terrible. That was it. But he's a good umpire. I like that whole crew. They're fun to be around. When you're on base, they talk to you, they ask about your family. He told Mike that I showed him up. I don't know how I showed him up."

Scioscia was ejected -- for the second time this season -- after a heated discussion in which he defended Pujols, leaving bench coach Dino Ebel to manage the rest of the game.

Scioscia feels Fletcher's response to Pujols was "inappropriate."

"Obviously, he was targeting Albert, no doubt about it," Scioscia said. "That's not the way you handle a situation like that."