It didn’t look like the Braves would muster any run support for Tim Hudson, so the pitcher took care of it himself.
Hudson hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning of a 2-0 win over Toronto on Monday night, all the offense he needed in a singular performance that saw him allow just one hit through the first eight innings.
Hudson (6-6) was replaced after giving up a walk and infield single to start the ninth inning, and closer Craig Kimbrel struck out the next three batters -- the heart of the order -- for his 20th save.
Hudson, 35, hit his second career homer and called the game his most memorable. He had eight strikeouts, including the 1,600th of his career.
"It would have been great to finish the game out tonight," said Hudson, who threw a one-hit shutout against Milwaukee on May 4. "But you can ask any starting pitcher: If they have a good game, throw seven, eight shutout innings and get the RBI for the only run, it’s an awesome day for them.
"So to be able to hit a big home run, in front of your home stadium, your home crowd, the day after Father’s Day? It’s definitely my most memorable, for sure.”
Hudson's homer off left-hander Ricky Romero was the first by a Braves pitcher since Hudson hit one off St. Louis' Kyle Lohse on Sept. 9, 2009, at St. Louis.
“Oh, man, that’s as fun as it gets," said veteran backup catcher David Ross, who was a teammate of Hudson's at Auburn and caught his game Monday night. "As a teammate of somebody that good, and a longtime friend, catching his game like that, then him hitting the two-run homer -- love that stuff.”
Hudson formerly was an All-America pitcher and All-SEC two-way player while pitching and slugging for Auburn in the late 1990s.
The slender right-hander did it all for the Braves in their interleague series-opening win over the Blue Jays, which pulled Atlanta within 4-1/2 games of National League East leader Philadelphia. The Phillies didn’t play Monday.
Hudson retired 20 consecutive batters after J.P. Arencibia’s one-out single in the second inning. Adam Lind reached base on an error by first baseman Freddie Freeman to start the inning. With two on and one out, Hudson coaxed a pop fly by Rajai Davis and a flyout by Jayson Nix to work out of the jam.
The rest of the night was nearly perfect for Hudson, who bounced back in splendid fashion after going 1-4 with a 5.80 ERA in his previous seven starts and lasting four innings or fewer in three of his past five.
“The last few weeks haven’t really felt like I wanted to," said Hudson, who threw 63 strikes in 96 pitches. "We just made a few adjustments and it really felt good.”
He dominated with his sinkerball, getting nothing but groundball outs and strikeouts in the third through eighth innings. He didn't give up a walk until Mike McCoy led off the inning with one.
Yunel Escobar followed with an infield single that Braves shortstop Alex Gonzalez stopped near second base, but had no play. Two were on, and manager Fredi Gonzalez called on Kimbrel, who struck out, in ord,er Corey Patterson, major league home-run co-leader Jose Bautista and cleanup hitter Adam Lind.
“He was really, really good," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Hudson. "The ball was over the plate and it was sinking. He almost got Escobar to ground out one more time for a double play [in the ninth]. For me, he deserved every bit to go back out there in the ninth inning."
The Braves wasted a couple of scoring opportunities early. They got two hits in the first inning, a Jordan Schafer single and Jason Heyward double. But Schafer was thrown out stealing and Freeman struck out to end the inning with Heyward at second.
Nate McLouth flied out with two on to end the fourth inning and Dan Uggla grounded into an inning-ending double play with two on in the sixth, the latter drawing boos from the Turner Field crowd.
In the seventh, Ross hit a leadoff single and went to second on a throwing error on the play by Escobar, the former Braves shortstop. Ross advanced on a groundout but was gunned down at the plate by Escobar on Diory Hernandez's fielder’s choice.
One pitch later, Hudson took matters into his own hands with a no-doubt-about-it home run to the left-field seats off Romero (6-7).
“That was nice," Ross said. "I was all down because I got thrown out at the plate. Next thing I hear a big crack. I turned around and he’s running around the bases like an old man."
Ross smiled and said this loud enough for Hudson to hear from the other side of the clubhouse: "We’ve got to work on his trot. That was a little slow for my taste.”
