Major League Baseball

Hudson's mental error costs Pads a run

Published Jul. 26, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Not much went right for the San Diego Padres. Just ask Orlando Hudson.

The second baseman's mental blunder was just one of the many forgettable aspects in the Padres' 6-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.

Add Joe Saunders' stellar pitching performance to Hudson's mistake, and yet another injury to starting pitcher Dustin Moseley, and it was a game San Diego would rather forget.

Hudson allowed Arizona to score an unearned run in the sixth after Justin Upton's 18th home run with one out off Moseley (3-10). Chris Young followed with a walk and stole second. After Miguel Montero was walked intentionally, Brian Roberts lifted a pop up to short right field.

Hudson easily went back and made the catch while running toward the first-base line. He apparently forgot the number of outs because he tossed the ball underhand to the ball girl in foul territory. The girl tossed the ball into the stands.

Young and Montero each moved up a base on the play and were awarded an extra base with the ball went out of play, allowing Young to score for a 4-0 lead.

''You see it every now and then,'' Hudson said. ''Life goes one. Nobody's perfect.''

Said Padres manager Bud Black: ''You don't see that, especially from a player of Orlando's caliber.''

Moseley, who allowed five runs and seven hits over seven innings, had a reoccurrence of an injury from June 8 when he suffered a slight left shoulder dislocation while batting.

While hitting in the third inning, Moseley lined a ball down the right-field line, then crumpled at the plate while holding his left shoulder. He got up in time to run safely to first base, but trainer Todd Hutcheson came out onto the field. Moseley stayed in the game.

''When I was in the American League, I didn't have to hit, so I never had to deal with it,'' Moseley said.

When Moseley came to the plate in the fifth inning with two outs, Rob Johnson was on third base after a triple. Because of the injury, Moseley bunted throughout the at-bat, including with two strikes. He struck out when he fouled off a bunt and drew a chorus of boos from the fans.

''I can't swing as bad as I wanted to when I got two strikes,'' he said. ''I guess they don't pay attention to the game.''

Saunders (7-8) came within one out of a shutout and Upton and Kelly Johnson drove in two runs each.

Saunders overcame his season-long, first-inning struggles and had two outs in the ninth when he surrendered a solo homer to Jesus Guzman. The right-hander, who allowed six hits, struck out four and walked two, came in having surrendered 16 earned runs in the first inning of his 20 starts this season for an ERA of 7.20.

Upton, the co-NL Player of the Week along with San Diego's Cameron Maybin, hit a solo homer and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. In his last seven games, Upton is 15 for 26 with three homers and 13 RBI.

Rob Johnson had three hits, including an RBI triple, and Willie Bloomquist also had three hits with two runs scored.

San Diego, which leads the majors with 110 stolen bases, failed to steal a base for the first time in 13 games.

Notes: Johnson left the game in the top of the seventh inning with a bruised right hand. ... Diamondbacks LF Gerardo Parra (sore left wrist) was held out of the starting lineup for the second straight game after being hit by a pitch Saturday. ... OF Collin Cowgill, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Reno, made his major league debut in left field.

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