CALIFORNIA Hudson keys Oakland in win over Baltimore

The A's have won three straight and are 6-5 on their current homestand.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Tim Hudson wanted to finish the job -- that way if things went sour it would be his fault and his fault alone.
Hudson pitched a three-hitter and Terrence Long doubled in the seventh to break a scoreless tie, leading the Oakland Athletics over the Baltimore Orioles 2-0 on Friday night.
Hudson (7-3) won for the first time in three starts as the A's won their third straight and improved to 6-5 on their season-long 13-game homestand.
He threw 115 pitches in his first complete game of the season and fifth of his career.
And A's manager Ken Macha never had to send in closer Keith Foulke.
"It's nice to finally get a win," Hudson said. "I felt I had it in control. I think I made his decision easy."
After getting Jeff Conine to pop out to first for the final out, Hudson punched his fist in his glove several times before bumping fists and hugging catcher Ramon Hernandez, celebrating the pitcher's first shutout since Sept. 14 against Seattle.
Frustrating year
The right-hander has 10 no-decisions this season in 20 starts despite pitching well enough to win in most of those outings -- in his 13 non-win starts Hudson has gotten just 3.89 runs of support.
He has handled it well, though he's also said that not getting the victories has been frustrating.
Macha believes Hudson's an All-Star, even if he's not going to the game in Chicago next week.
Hudson instead will watch the game on TV in Lake Tahoe with wife, Kim, and their year-old daughter.
"I feel like I've been one of the best pitchers in the league," he said. "I'll watch it. We have a lot of guys going. I'll give them some support."
Long doubled off Rodrigo Lopez (2-5) with two outs and Hernandez on first after a walk.
Hernandez scored on the play after colliding with catcher Geronimo Gil, and Long came home on a wild throw to the plate by shortstop Deivi Cruz that got past Gil for an error.
Third-base coach Ron Washington didn't hesitate to send Hernandez -- not one of the A's fastest players -- home from first on Long's hit.
"He was only a couple steps from third when [left fielder Melvin] Mora picked up the ball," Washington said. "I thought this might be our only chance we have. So, let them make the play."
Few chances
After allowing a leadoff single to Brian Roberts in the first, Hudson retired 18 straight batters before Luis Matos led off the seventh with an infield single and later reached third. It ended up being Baltimore's best chance to score.
Hudson is 7-0 with a 1.71 ERA against the Orioles in seven career starts.
"I thought I'd never seen a better sinker than Kevin Brown's, but I may have tonight," Baltimore Manager Mike Hargrove said.
Conine, 2-for-13 lifetime against Hudson, had two inning-ending strikeouts and had his 12-game hitting streak snapped.
Hudson struck out nine and intentionally walked one, using a nice array of offspeed pitches to baffle Baltimore's hitters.
Lopez also pitched a great game, going the distance for the second time in his career.
The right-hander retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced before Miguel Tejada's two-out double in the fourth. He struck out five and walked two.
Notes
Long is hitting .326 (17-for-52) over his last 15 games.
Lopez is 1-2 in four career starts against Oakland and 2-2 since coming off the DL with a strained oblique muscle in his left side.
Roberts returned to the lineup at second base after sitting out two games with a strained back.