Hudson is a little wild, but pitches A's past Bucs
He hit three batters but allowed only one run in seven innings in a 6-1 win.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Tim Hudson wasn't bothered by the few pitches that got away from him. He made plenty of others to give the Oakland Athletics a chance to win.
Hudson allowed one run in seven innings Friday night to lead the A's past the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 for their season-high sixth straight win.
Hudson (7-2) allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five, but he also hit three batters to tie an Oakland single-game record. He has hit 45 batters in his career, also tying Mike Norris for the most by an Oakland pitcher.
"Before I leave here I'm going to have one record -- at least," Hudson said jokingly. "Luckily, I hung around long enough to get a 'W' out of it. I don't have terrible control, but every now and then, I don't know where it comes from, a pitch gets away from me. That's the last thing I wanted to do."
Unbeaten at home
Hudson lowered his AL-leading ERA to 1.15 and is 4-0 in five home starts. Chris Hammond pitched a hitless eighth, and Justin Duchscherer threw a scoreless ninth.
"I think we've played the Pirates three times in the last century, so I don't think there is anybody trying to hit anyone," A's manager Ken Macha said. "Huddy didn't have the command he would have liked."
Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon acknowledged Hudson's command problems, but remained upset.
"He was erratic, but Hudson lost his control? You've got to be kidding me," McClendon said. "I just don't understand issuing warnings and guys still remain in the game. We might as well not issue warnings."
Damian Miller and Marco Scutaro each drove in two runs for the A's, who sent the Pirates to their sixth consecutive defeat.
Best start since 1992
The A's have won all 16 interleague games against NL Central opponents, and are off to their best start since the 1992 team also opened the season 35-24.
Miller has driven in 16 runs in his last five games after driving in 11 in his first 37.
"It goes in cycles like that," Miller said. "You get opportunities and sometimes you come through and sometimes you don't. Right now, I am seeing the ball well and I have a decent approach at the plate. Every time that I get up there, there are guys in scoring position."
Kris Benson (4-6) gave up four runs on three hits, walked two and hit two batters in six-plus innings. He failed to win in his sixth straight June start dating to 2002. Benson lost his third straight overall as Pittsburgh starters dropped to 0-7 in their last 11 games.
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