After Short Rest, Hudson Is History

Pitching on three days’ rest never seems to work out for Tim Hudson.

Hudson left after one inning Sunday with a strained muscle in his left side, and the Oakland Athletics wound up losing to Boston, 5-4, evening their playoff series at 2-2.

That was the first time he pitched on three days’ rest since an 11-2 loss to Minnesota in Game 4 of last year’s opening round, when he gave up seven runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings while dealing with a sore hip.

But Oakland Manager Ken Macha thought Hudson was fine going into this start.

“Most of the time I asked the pitching coach, and he said he’s throwing great,” Macha said.

Steve Sparks allowed two runs in four innings, and Ricardo Rincon gave up one run in two innings before Keith Foulke allowed David Ortiz’s go-ahead, two-run double in the eighth.

“Usually with Hudson, the bullpen can kind of hang out for six or seven innings and not even get a call,” Sparks said.

In the opener against Boston on Wednesday, Hudson allowed three runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings. Oakland won, 5-4, in 12 innings.

Since 1998, postseason starters are 5-14 on three days’ rest. But there was no indication the short rest contributed to Hudson’s injury.

It was unclear whether Hudson would pitch if Oakland advances to the AL championship series.

Barry Zito, the 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner, will face Boston’s three-time Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez in Game 5 today at Oakland.

Hudson’s injury didn’t cost Oakland the game even though they lost a pitcher who was 16-7 with a 2.70 ERA. “We still had a chance to win,” he said. “Our bullpen came in and did a great job.”

Hudson pitched a perfect first inning but felt a twinge in his side while pitching to Todd Walker, the last batter. He left the game after feeling it again on a warmup pitch before the second.

“I felt pretty good,” Hudson said. “I had a great first inning and felt I had some pretty good stuff.”

*

Foulke’s inability to close the game was perhaps the biggest reason the A’s couldn’t close out the series.

“He’s not a robot,” Sparks said. “He’s been as good as the major leagues have had this year, him and Eric Gagne. I hope he’ll get another chance tomorrow and he’ll come out on top.”

Foulke, who blew only five save chances and was 9-1 with a 2.08 ERA this season, was outstanding in the first two games of the series in Oakland.

But he struggled Sunday after replacing Rincon to start the eighth with the A’s up, 4-3. Nomar Garciaparra doubled with one out. Manny Ramirez, two for 15 in the series to that point, singled him to third before Ortiz, 0 for 16 in the series until then, hit a 3-2 fastball for his game-winning double.

Catcher Adam Melhuse said “a changeup probably would have been a better pitch there,” but Foulke disagreed, saying, “Every time I try to throw a changeup to him he seems to hit it, so I didn’t throw him any changeups.”