Hudson pitches Braves to victory over Rockies

Atlanta, GA, United States (4E Sports) – Tim Hudson pitched seven shutout innings and Juan Francisco scored on a mishandled throw to the pitcher to help the Atlanta Braves edge the Colorado Rockies, 1-0, Thursday at Turner Field.

With the victory, the Braves have extended their lead to 3 ½ games over the St. Louis Cardinals for the first National League Wild Card spot and five games ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are aiming for the second Wild Card berth.

The Rockies suffered a fifth loss in their last seven road games after they were limited by the Braves’ pitching crew to one run in their three wins in the four-game series and held them scoreless in the last 19 innings.

Hudson (14-5), allowed seven hits with three strikeouts. He had only one 1-2-3 inning and put runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings but managed to get out of every jam, holding the Rockies hitless in six at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin (2-5) absorbed the loss, despite allowing only one unearned run and seven hits over 3 1/3 innings. He surrendered just one run in his fourth consecutive start, but he has only a 2-2 record to show for the efforts.

Chacin was also responsible for allowing the game’s only run as he dropped a routine throw back from catcher Wilin Rosario following a 1-2 pitch to Brian McCann in the second inning, allowing Francisco to hustle home from third.

Jason Heyward and Martin Prado contributed two hits apiece for the Braves. For Heyward, it was his 35th multi-hit game while Prado had his team-leading 51st multi-hit game, one behind suspended Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera for the league lead.

Charlie Blackmon, playing left field to give Carlos Gonzalez a day off, went 4-for-4 to pace the Rockies’ offense while Jordan Pacheco’s 14-game hit streak ended with a 0-for-2 performance with two walks.

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