Tim Hudson
photo by Tim Evearitt
PHOENIX -- This 10-game road trip might not have been quite as disastrous as the one the Braves experienced in April. But Tim Hudson will be among those who will consider it to have been equally frustrating.
Hudson appeared to be cruising before his good friend Eric Chavez drilled a two-out double that fueled a four-run fifth inning and gave the D-backs a lead they would not squander in Wednesday afternoon's 5-3 win over the Braves at Chase Field.
After Freddie Freeman provided the Braves a 3-1 lead with his two-run double in the top of the fifth inning, Hudson surrendered four hits and four earned runs in the bottom half of the inning. He had surrendered a total of four earned runs while compiling a 0.94 ERA in his previous five career starts in Arizona.
Hudson's fifth-inning struggles began when he issued a five-pitch walk to pinch-hitter Jason Kubel. Gerardo Parra then produced an infield single on a sharply hit grounder that Andrelton Simmons was unable to get out of his glove after making an impressive diving stop.
After Didi Gregorius cut Arizona's deficit to one run with an RBI single, Hudson righted himself with a strikeout against the always-dangerous Paul Goldschmidt. But his attempt to escape the inning without further damage was denied when Chavez drilled a decisive opposite-field, two-run double to the left-center-field gap.
Cody Ross capped the fifth-inning uprising with an RBI single off Hudson, who was charged with five earned runs and eight hits in five innings. The 37-year-old right-hander allowed 11 earned runs and totaled 8 2/3 innings during the two starts he made during this road trip.
Hudson's struggles combined with those of an inconsistent offense led the Braves to lose five of their past six games and end this 10-game road trip with four victories. They recorded three wins during their 10-game trip in April.
Hudson retired the first two batters he faced before allowing Goldshmidt's first-inning double. Chavez, who played with Hudson in Oakland from 1999-2004, followed with an RBI single.
The Braves found some fortune when they tied the game in the third inning. D-backs starter Ian Kennedy surrendered consecutive two-out infield singles before issuing consecutive four-pitch walks to Justin Upton and Freeman.
After drawing the bases-loaded walk in the third inning, Freeman delivered again in the fifth inning with a two-run, opposite-field double off Kennedy, who allowed three runs and needed 100 pitches to complete five innings.
--- Source: MLB.com
Freddie Freeman went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI.
photo by Tim Evearitt