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Tuesday, Apr. 4 10:05pm ET
Hudson throws no-hit ball for 6 1/3 innings | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Forget the sophomore slump for Tim Hudson. Last year's rookie pitching sensation opened his second season by holding Detroit hitless for 6 1/3 innings en route to Oakland's 3-1 victory over the Tigers on Tuesday night. "I'm just going out there and pitching. I'm not worrying about any jinx," Hudson said. "I try not to think about what I did last year. This is a new year and who knows what can happen? But I think if you prepare the same and your work ethic is the same, you're going to be OK." Hudson was much more than that, though. He allowed only one hit -- Tony Clark cleanly doubled to the left-center field gap on the right-hander's 100th pitch. "That was an outstanding performance," Oakland manager Art Howe, who probably was a little relieved when Clark broke up the no-hitter. Howe said Hudson was on a pitch count -- he threw 104 -- and would have been lifted after the seventh no matter what. "The hit made the decision easy, but I could have really given you guys something to talk about because he was coming out. It was strictly a pitch count thing. He hadn't thrown over 100 in spring training. A pitcher's health is more important than going down in history, I guess. He went seven innings. He did his job." Even Hudson said he wouldn't have argued. "Nah, it's too early in the year for that," he said. "They (Detroit batters) battled with me. They fouled off a lot of pitches. I knew I had a lot of pitches, too many. Maybe if it was my 20th start of the year." Hudson (1-0), who went 11-2 last year to finish with the highest winning percentage ever by an Oakland rookie, struck out eight and walked three in the A's first win of the season. He left after seven scoreless innings and T.J. Mathews worked the eighth. "He's got good stuff. I think the league had trouble with him last year," Detroit manager Phil Garner said of Hudson, who beat both Cy Young award winners last year, defeating Randy Johnson at Arizona and Pedro Martinez at Boston. "That alone tells you what he's made of," Howe said. "He went up against the two best pitchers in baseball and beat them in their own back yard." Clark had Detroit's only two hits. He singled in the ninth to set up a run that scored on a wild pitch by Jason Isringhausen, who got a save. A crowd of 10,188 watched the A's win a day after a record 53,498 fans attended the opener. The Tigers were without power-hitting Juan Gonzalez, who is expected to miss at least two games in hopes the rest will allow a nagging right hamstring injury to heal. He could be back in the lineup as early as Friday, when the Tigers play at Baltimore. C.J. Nitkowski (0-1) allowed three runs -- only one earned -- in six innings. He struck out seven and walked three but was outdueled by Hudson. "We were locked in," Nitkowski said. "I knew from the start it would be a battle with the way he was working our batters and the way I felt. I just had to keep us close. But I got outpitched. That's the bottom line. I felt like it was a battle between us and he won." The victory was Hudson's third against the Tigers. He has an 0.78 ERA in those victories. "The guy pitched a great game," said Detroit's Luis Polonia. "He kept the ball down. We couldn't lay off the pitches in the ground and if you can't lay off them, you're in trouble. He had good control of everything he threw. He's been very tough against us." Hudson was overpowering at the outset, setting down the first 10 batters he faced and fanning five of them. Then in the fourth, he fought to maintain his control. Brad Ausmus drew a one-out walk and Bobby Higginson followed with a sinking line drive that center fielder Ryan Christenson snagged with a sliding catch. Dean Palmer drew the second walk of the inning before Clark flied out. Hudson got more defensive help in the fifth. First baseman Jason Giambi robbed Rob Fick, ranging to his right and making a diving stop of a sharply hit grounder. Shortstop Miguel Tejada's throw from deep in the hole beat Deivi Cruz to first by a step to end the inning. Oakland gave Hudson all the offense he needed in the fourth. John Jaha drew a walk and Matt Stairs and Ben Grieve hit successive singles for a 1-0 lead. The A's added a pair of unearned runs in the fifth, an inning that began with Eric Chavez reaching on Clark's error at first base. Nitkowski issued two walks to load the bases with one out and two runs scored when Giambi beat out Detroit's attempt to double him at first on an infield grounder. Game notesGrieve collected his 200th career RBI with his fourth-inning run-scoring single. ... The Tigers were denied in a bid for their first 2-0 start since 1986. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Detroit Clubhouse Oakland Clubhouse RECAPS Toronto 6 Kansas City 3
Oakland 3
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