PHOENIX (AP) - For Trevor Cahill, this loss represented a small step forward.
Cahill kept the Giants scoreless into the fifth inning, but he was outpitched by Tim Hudson on San Francisco’s 2-0 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
Hudson (1-0) was making his first start since July 24 after fracturing his right ankle against the Mets while pitching for the Braves. The veteran right-hander had four strikeouts and no walks, and had Arizona hitters pounding the ball into the ground.
Cahill (0-1) held the Giants scoreless until the fifth. Angel Pagan singled in a run in the fifth and Michael Morse doubled in a run in the sixth to make it 2-0.
“I try and be too perfect with my pitches and tend to get hurt,” Cahill said. “The coaching staff told me just to relax and treat the game as if this was another bullpen session.”
After allowing eight hits and five runs in four innings against the Dodgers March 23, Cahill’s surrendered four hits, two runs and three walks.
“The difference was his ability to command the strike zone,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. “Yet, the walks hurt him. In a tight game like this one, you can’t make mistakes.”
Sergio Romo shut down the Diamondbacks in order to record his second save.
The Diamondbacks threatened only twice with Hudson on the mound.
After Hudson retired the first nine hitters, Gerardo Parra led off the fourth with a single to center, moved to second on a wild pitch but was stranded when Paul Goldschmidt struck out and Martin Prado flied to center.
In the seventh, Goldschmidt led off with a double but Hudson retired Prado on a fly to right, Miguel Montero flied to left and Mark Trumbo struck out.
Hudson tossed 103 pitches and improved to 8-1 against Arizona. He is 5-1 at Chase Field.
“I felt good early and the guys made some big plays behind me,” Hudson said. “I kept the ball down, keep my pitch count down and threw strikes. If you do that, you can go deep into games.”
Notes: With his seventh inning double, Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to 24 games, tying Tony Womack for second in franchise history behind Luis Gonzalez (30 games) … Arizona RHP David Hernandez successfully underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and begins rehab in Phoenix. … Arizona OF Cody Ross, on DL since March 22, will start for minor league Triple-A Reno Thursday on rehab assignment. … Tim Lincecum will start Thursday for San Francisco and Bronson Arroyo for Arizona.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.