ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar strained an abdominal muscle and left after the fifth inning of Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Florida Marlins.
Escobar said he hurt himself jumping up and down in the on-deck circle before his fifth-inning at-bat. Escobar usually makes repeated jumps to warm up before hitting.He hit a groundout and then left the game.
Escobar said he thinks he can play Friday, but manager Bobby Cox said he expects the shortstop to miss three or four games.
Omar Infante moved from third base to shortstop to replace Escobar. Martin Prado entered the game as the new third baseman.
Escobar was 1-for-3 and his hitting .343.
