Catcher takes one...and a lot more for the team

ST. LOUIS - Atlanta Braves catcher Johnny Estrada was a virtual ball magnet on Thursday.<br> <br> A foul tip nailed him square in the mask in the third inning, another foul ball in the fourth found his right big toe and had him rolling in pain in the dirt.<br> <br> Then a foul tip pinged him in the inner thigh in the eighth, and a fourth foul ball hit him solidly in his left arm in the ninth.<br> <br> Somehow, a battered and bruised Estrada made it to the finish of the Braves&#39; 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.<br> <br> ``It comes with the territory,&#39;&#39; Estrada said. ``But it doesn&#39;t have to come all in one game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Estrada estimated he got nicked six or seven times during the three-game series.<br> <br> ``That&#39;s the most I&#39;ve ever seen a catcher get hit in my life,&#39;&#39; manager Bobby Cox said after Thursday&#39;s game. ``The most. I really don&#39;t know why, but he gets hit a lot.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Estrada has a theory about that.<br> <br> ``I came to the conclusion that because I&#39;m such a wide target, I leave myself open to a lot of foul tips that maybe hit the umpire or go to the backstop,&#39;&#39; Estrada said. ``I just wear them all.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s a price I&#39;m willing to pay but when you get that many in one game it kind of makes you a little mad.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Especially because not one of the bruises came on a wild pitch.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s ridiculous,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I&#39;ve had days like that in Triple-A and Double-A when the pitcher is just throwing the ball all over the place. But I don&#39;t think I had one ball in the dirt today, and I got beat up.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The worst hit was Jim Edmonds&#39; foul ball that dinged off his mask in the second.<br> <br> ``That one to my head, that&#39;s got to be top three in my career,&#39;&#39; Estrada said. ``I hadn&#39;t felt like that before. It just felt like somebody grabbed my head and just shook it, and I felt all the blood rushing to my head.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Second place on Thursday was the ball off the bat of Ray Lankford that hit him in the foot.<br> <br> ``My toe&#39;s pretty sore, too,&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> To top it off, Estrada stepped on his shoelace coming out of his crouch trying to throw out Albert Pujols attempting to steal in the first and tumbled to the ground.<br> <br> ``I got a new pair of cleats and my shoelaces are too long,&#39;&#39; Estrada said. ``It loosened everybody up, though. We scored some runs.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Estrada helped the Braves break out of an offensive slump and avoid a three-game sweep by going 2-for-4 with an RBI double. He is 6-for-17 during a five-game hitting streak.

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