Hudson, Braves slow down Mets
NEW YORK -- The big question in the National League East early this season is whether Atlanta still has enough pitching to hold off the New York Mets.
Winners of 14 straight division titles, the Braves delivered an emphatic answer this week.
Tim Hudson took a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning before finishing with a three-hit gem, and Atlanta got another big homer from Andruw Jones in a 2-1 victory yesterday over the Mets.
''You don't look at the lineups and decide who wins the game," Hudson said. ''Today was a lot of fun for me personally, especially the way I started the year."
Hudson outpitched Tom Glavine in a matchup of All-Stars in peak form. The righthander retired his first 15 batters before Ramon Castro's leadoff single in the sixth and held on with some help from his defense.
It was the second stellar outing in a row for the Braves, who got a three-hitter from 22-year-old Kyle Davies in a 7-1 win Tuesday night.
''It's good to see our starting pitchers go out and perform the way they did the past two days," Jones said. ''I'm really proud of the way they've been pitching."
Mets third baseman David Wright made three errors and hit a game-ending ground out with a runner on after Chris Woodward's RBI single.
Jones hit his fifth homer in four games for the Braves, who took two of three in the first series this season between the rivals. The Mets fell to 10-4 -- they won their opening four series for the first time in franchise history.
''We'll probably be going back and forth all season with these guys," New York manager Willie Randolph said.
Hudson (1-1) struck out six and walked one, throwing 65 of 97 pitches for strikes in his 19th career complete game. All three wins by Braves starters this season have been complete games in a five-day span.
Glavine (2-1) was nearly as good against his former team, allowing two runs -- one earned -- and four hits in eight innings. He struck out five and walked none.
With both aces dominating depleted lineups, the game took only 1 hour 59 minutes.
''Both of us threw well. He threw a little bit better," Glavine said. ''It's one of those games that's tough to lose."
Jones connected with two outs in the seventh, and Atlanta added a run in the eighth on a pair of miscues by Wright, who began the day with no errors.
''They were tough plays, but this is the big leagues and tough plays have to be made," Wright said. ''I'm more disappointed in letting Tom down and letting the team down than I am making the errors for me personally."
Hudson, who struggled through his first three starts and came in with an uncharacteristic 9.20 ERA, entered the ninth inning seeking his ninth career shutout and first since August 2004 with Oakland.
Jose Reyes doubled with one out and scored on Woodward's single, but Hudson retired Carlos Delgado on a fly to left and got Wright on a grounder to shortstop.
