House

Toronto Blue Jays reliever T.J. House was taken off the field in an ambulance Friday after being hit on the head by a line drive in the ninth inning of a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers.

House was talking before the ambulance left the field in Lakeland, Florida, Toronto manager John Gibbons said.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said House’s injury was among the scariest things he has witnessed in a baseball game.

“When I went out there, his face was in his glove,” Ausmus said. “There was blood on his face, blood in the glove — everything.”

The pitcher was hit on the back of the head by a ball off the bat of John Hicks. The ball ricocheted about 30 feet into the air before being caught by catcher Mike Ohlman.

“Before he even caught it, people were signaling for the trainers to come out. You could tell the infielders were shaken by what they saw,” said Nick Brzezinski, who works for the Blue Jays’ Class A Lansing Lugnuts and was watching from along the first-base line.

House fell to his stomach and was face down on the mound for nearly 20 minutes while being tended to by trainers. House was put onto a stretcher and gave a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was placed into an ambulance for transport to a hospital.

Gibbons said the 27-year-old House had feeling in all of his extremities.

“I couldn’t get near him,” Gibbons said. “They were working on him. It’s scary, you know. He was talking, he could feel everything, so, hopefully, that’s a good sign.”

Cuts

Clint Frazier’s flowing locks of red hair are gone, replaced by a short, curly look after a barber visited the Yankees’ spring training clubhouse at around 7:15 a.m. The touted prospect made the decision after meeting Thursday with manager Joe Girardi.

“I just felt like it had become somewhat of a focus at camp for him, becoming a distraction and I didn’t want it to be anymore,” Girardi said. “We have rules in place. In reality, when he was on the field, he met the criteria. I think he made a wise decision because he understands he wants the focus to be on how he plays not how he looked.”

The Yankees have had rules since the early 1970s banning long hair and most facial hair, a policy put in place by owner George Steinbrenner. Frazier cut his hair after the Yankees acquired him from Cleveland on Aug. 1 in the Andrew Miller deal, then let it grow during the offseason.

Pirates 4, Rays 1

Edwin Espinal hit a game-ending, three-run homer off Ryne Stanek.

Pirates starter Drew Hutchison gave up one run over four innings, striking out five.

Tim Beckham homered for the Rays.