After Tim Hudson threw first-pitch strikes to 26 of 29 Milwaukee batters during his one-hit shutout Wednesday, Braves third baseman Chipper Jones paid him the ultimate compliment he will give a pitcher.
“That’s Maddux-esque,” Jones said, comparing Hudson’s precision performance to many he saw from former Braves pitcher Greg Maddux, whom he calls the best pitcher he ever played with.
Hudson’s work was that impressive during an 8-0 win that capped a doubleheader sweep for the Braves and gave the 35-year-old pitcher his 12th career shutout and first since returning from August 2008 ligament-transplant elbow surgery.
“You’re going to have nights where you feel really good, and [Wednesday] was one of those nights,” said Hudson (4-2), whose first-pitch strike percentage was the highest for a major league starter this season.
He threw 74 strikes in 102 pitches, his highest post-surgery percentage (72.5). Rickie Weeks had a leadoff double in the fourth inning and walked in the ninth, and that was it. No one else reached base against Hudson.
“You feel like you have good stuff. You’re locating it, throwing strikes with it, and the guys behind you are making plays,” he said. “All in all, it was a perfect night. ... I can’t remember the last time there was a game for me that was this nice.”
It was the third one-hit shutout for Hudson, who hasn’t thrown a no-hitter.
“No-hitters are just eye wash,” Jones said. “I mean, it’s a great accomplishment, don’t get me wrong. But the bottom line is, no no-hitter is any more dominant than what Huddy did [Wedneday] night.”
Rest for Freeman, Gonzalez
Freddie Freeman and Alex Gonzalez were out of the lineup for Thursday’s series finale with Milwaukee after playing 18 innings in Wednesday’s doubleheader. Eric Hinske started at first base, and Brandon Hicks got his second start at shortstop.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez said it was “imperative” that he give occasional rest to Alex Gonzalez, who started 31 of 32 games at shortstop before Thursday.
Freeman, a 21-year-old rookie, has started 29 games at first and played exceptional defense. He was only 6-for-40 (.150) with three RBIs in his past 10 games, including a two-run single in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s nightcap.
Hinske played left field in Wednesday’s second game and had an RBI double and a sacrifice fly. Hinske was 1-for-9 with five strikeouts previously against right-hander Shaun Marcum, the Brewers’ starting pitcher Thursday.
Freeman, a left-handed hitter, has fared better in the early season against lefties than he has against right-handers, batting .269 with an .893 OPS in 26 at-bats against lefties and .211 with a .634 OPS in 30 at-bats against righties.
“We’ve got a couple of lefties coming up in Philly,” said Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves will face the Phillies’ Cliff Lee [lefty], Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels [lefty] in a road series that starts Friday. “We’ll go ahead and let Freddie handle those [three] guys.”
Hudson on short rest?
Gonzalez said he was leaning toward starting Hudson on short rest in Sunday night’s ESPN-televised series finale against the Phillies, but would probably wait until Friday to make a final decision.
He said the other possibilities were Tommy Hanson, who also would pitch on three days’ rest after pitching Wednesday’s doubleheader opener, or a call-up from Triple-A for a spot start.
Gonzalez pointed out Hanson threw almost as many pitches (101) in six innings as Hudson threw in nine Wednesday, and Hanson has had some recent back issues.
