Hudson has solid outing in Gwinnett

By JEFF HAWS

For the AJC

One more start, and he can put the longest year of his baseball life behind him.

Braves pitcher Tim Hudson had another solid outing for AAA-affiliate Gwinnett on Sunday, giving up three runs and six hits in six innings during his second-to-last scheduled rehab start following ligament-transplant elbow surgery (commonly known as “Tommy John” surgery) last August.

The innings and pitch count (89) were both highs since Hudson’s return to the mound. After throwing at least 200 innings in six out of his eight major league seasons, being unable to even get to 90 pitches for the past year has been difficult, but he said he can see the work paying dividends.

“You can definitely see it,” Hudson said of the progress in his arm strength and stamina. “Your first couple of times out there, your pitch count is so low it’s kind of hard to get a gauge on it. Each time out, you can feel yourself getting a little stronger. For the most part, the most important thing is sitting down between innings and seeing how you feel when you go back out there.”

That process went well for Hudson against Charlotte on Sunday, except for a three-run second that would have just been a one-run inning if Gwinnett third baseman Van Pope and shortstop Chris Burke hadn’t tangled feet on a one-out ground ball, which resulted in an RBI single.

His only walk came in the sixth inning, his only inning with more balls than strikes. He said he could feel the pitches piling up by that point, though the Gwinnett Stadium radar gun still showed his fastball reaching near 90 miles per hour.

“I could definitely tell last outing and this outing, toward the end of my pitch count, I could feel myself getting a little bit tired,” Hudson said. “But that’s the whole point of building up, going out there and stretching it out and trying to get to 100 pitches. I was still able to bear down and make some pitches when I needed to in that last inning.”

The progress was evident to Gwinnett manager Dave Brundage, who has now watched Hudson his past four rehab starts and said the veteran was on top of his game Sunday.

“I thought, today, he had his best stuff,” Brundage said. “I thought he commanded his pitches better; I thought he had a better cutter. All around, to me, that’s the best he’s looked.”

Where exactly Hudson fits into the Braves’ plans isn’t entirely clear, but the options would include moving a current member of the starting rotation to the bullpen, going with a six-man rotation after the Sept. 1 roster expansion or putting Hudson in the bullpen for the first time in his major league career.

Hudson, 34, said that, though it’s been difficult not being able to help the big-league club in its chase for a playoff spot, it’s easier knowing they’re playing well while he’s away.

“It’s been hard for a year now, but those guys are playing some pretty good baseball, and they’re pitching really well,” Hudson said. “It’d be a lot harder if our guys were going out there and getting their brains beaten in. Our pitching’s done really well. That gives me the opportunity to not feel like I need to rush back.”

Hudson’s final minor league rehab start is expected to come Friday, possibly for Gwinnett in Charlotte.

Hudson vs. Knights on Sunday

• 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

• Hudson earned his first win in six rehab starts, in a 10-5 Gwinnett victory.

• He threw 89 pitches, the most he has thrown since surgery last August. Six innings was also his longest outing during that time.

• He threw 58 strikes and 31 balls.

• Five of the six hits and all three runs Hudson allowed came in the second inning. Outside of the second, he faced just one more than the minimum number of batters.