Touch 'Em All: Pujols has restless night after hitting 500th

Albert Pujols was so wired - and so busy talking and texting friends around baseball - after hitting his 500th career home run Tuesday night that the Los Angeles Angels slugger didn't get to sleep until about 4 a.m.

"Trust me, I was trying to sleep," Pujols said before Wednesday night's series finale against the Washington Nationals. "I knew we had a game today."

Pujols, still basking in the afterglow of his milestone homer, stroked the first pitch he saw on Wednesday for a single.

Pujols said he spoke or exchanged texts Tuesday night with players including David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez, and he had a 25-minute phone chat with Tony La Russa, his manager in St. Louis.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon had an interesting suggestion after Yunel Escobar stuck out on a pitch with a 4-2 count: give him credit for a walk.

Escobar struck out Tuesday after the umpires had an incorrect count - even after a replay review. Major League Baseball acknowledged the mistake.

"I'd like to see that taken off of Escobar's record as a strikeout and have it reinstated as a walk," Maddon said.

Former NBA star Tracy McGrady is on the opening-day roster of the Sugar Land Skeeters as a pitcher, manager Gary Gaetti told KRIV-TV in Houston on Wednesday. The Skeeters are in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.