Hudson takes another disappointing no-decision as A�s win
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Perhaps the jinx is with Tim Hudson, not the Boston Red Sox.
The story of Hudson�s spectacular season was summed up by one hanging pitch thrown by Ricardo Rincon, who followed Oakland�s star right-hander in Game 1 against the Red Sox on Wednesday night.
Hudson had a one-run lead when he left to a standing ovation from 50,606 fans with two outs in the seventh and Nomar Garciaparra aboard on a single. Then, Todd Walker clobbered a 2-0 pitch from Rincon over the right-field fence for his second home run of the game as Boston took a 4-3 lead.
Hudson, sitting in the dugout, angrily tossed his sports drink.
The A�s ended up winning 5-4 in 12 innings, but Hudson went away with a no-decision in a season already filled with them.
It�s really not that surprising things didn�t go Hudson�s way, even though he beat Boston ace Pedro Martinez on Aug. 11 with an incredible two-hit shutout in a 4-0 win by the A�s, and had also won in a 1999 meeting at Fenway Park.
Hudson has been plagued by bad luck in a year when he probably would have been a major contender for the AL Cy Young Award had he just won a few more games. His ERA was plenty impressive at 2.70.
The 16-game winner said at the All-Star break he was tired of pitching well but not getting the results because of poor run support or bullpen blunders. He had 10 no-decisions in the first half, a 7-3 record and said he felt �shortchanged.�
Until Walker�s second homer, the A�s had been calmly working out of jams and keeping the most dangerous hitter in Boston�s loaded lineup�Manny Ramirez�off the bases.
Hudson�s luck in the playoffs hasn�t been much better than it was this regular season. He has only one win in six postseason appearances, five starts.
The 28-year-old Hudson was 15-9 last year with a career-best 2.98 ERA. But he also had 10 no-decisions in 34 starts. And Hudson�s season ended in frustration as Oakland was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year.
He also pitched the opener last year, against the Minnesota Twins.
Hudson, the longest-tenured member of Oakland�s Big Three starters, gave up four runs on eight hits in 5 1-3 innings in the loss.
Then, he was tagged for seven runs in the fourth inning of an 11-2 defeat in Game 4 in the Metrodome and took the loss. He gave up 11 runs in 8 2-3 innings in the two games, and former manager Art Howe was criticized for not starting Cy Young winner Barry Zito in Game 1.
Hudson beefed up in the offseason�well, he gained eight pounds to reach a career-high 175 on the scale. He was determined to finally play deep into October after three offseasons of what-ifs.
Just last week, Hudson sounded like one of the most confident of the A�s.
�I hope you guys are ready for us to do something we haven�t done the last couple years, and that�s win a championship,� he said. �Maybe this is the year we stumble to the finish line and win it all.�
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