ST. PETERSBURG -- Tim Hudson had his sinker working on Sunday as he held the Rays scoreless for 7 2/3 innings and the Braves claimed the rubber game of the series, 2-0, at Tropicana Field.
Hudson found himself staring down a bases-loaded situation with two outs in the sixth inning. With an electric crowd of 24,759 inside Tropicana Field standing in anticipation -- half cheering for the Braves, the other half for the home team -- Hudson calmly forced Carlos Pena to fly out to center to end the threat.
Hudson got two outs in the eighth before allowing a single to B.J. Upton, at which point he handed things over to Jonny Venters, who managed to escape the inning without allowing a run after loading the bases.
David Ross gave Hudson all the support he needed in the third with a solo homer to right off Rays starter David Price, who entered the contest with a 6-2 record and a 3.10 ERA.
The Braves gave Hudson another run in the sixth, when Freddie Freeman singled with one out, advanced to second on a passed ball during Dan Uggla's strikeout and scored on a single to center by Jason Heyward.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth for his 13th save of the season. The Braves improved to 26-16.
--- Source MLB.com
David Ross hit his third home run of the season.
- Photo2 by Tim Evearitt