SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Daniel Hudson threw five shutout innings when the Diamondbacks and Milwaukee played to a scoreless tie Wednesday, extending his recent string of solid performances.
Hudson has given up only two runs in his last 12 innings, that on a single to White Sox pitcher and former teammate John Danks last Friday. Hudson has nine 1-2-3 innings in that span and has made good use of a slider that he is working to add as a put-away pitch to go with his fastball/changeup mix.
Hudson continues to pitch like a part of the D-backs' future, but he is willing to let that play out. Unlike Miguel Montero, Hudson said he could take discussions with general manager Kevin Towers on a possible long-term contract into the regular season without letting it affect him.
"I would not set a deadline or anything like that. I have the kind of mentality where I can kind of block stuff out. If they were to say ‘Let's pick something up again during the season,' I wouldn't be opposed to it," said Hudson, who does not become arbitration eligible until after the 2013 season.
"Basically, it's what ‘K.T.' wants to do. If he wants to cut things off for a little while, that's his call. But I don't think there is any kind of deadline."
Towers said earlier in the spring he expected to explore long-term contract talks with Ian Kennedy and Hudson after being unable to work out a long-termdeal with Montero, a free agent after this season.
Hudson was in trouble only once Wednesday, when Nyjer Morgan singled and Rickie Weeks walked to open the third. Hudson responded with a groundout and a strikeout, one of his four strikeouts. He has 14 strikeouts and two walks in 15 innings.
He struck out the first two batters of the game on off-speed pitches, including left-handed hitting Morgan, and has been pleased with the results of his slider after tweaking the finger placement on his grip to get a more downward bite.
"As far as throwing it for strikes and getting some swings and misses on it, I feel really good," Hudson said.
"Last year my slider got a little bit cutter-ish. Now it's a little bit bigger and slower. It has a little more depth to it. It changes the eye level a little bit better. It's kind of a mentality, too. I finally got it in my mind you don't have to throw it as hard as you can. You just try to place it where you want to start it, and where you want it to end up."
NATIONAL EXPOSURE
The Washington Nationals have had several scouts at the last two D-backs' games, presumably to keep an eye on Gerardo Parra, whose value seems to increase with every game. The D-backs are said to be asking for a catcher and a shortstop in any deal, sources said, although Towers has said there have been no trade discussions involving Parra.
The Nationals do appear to be a possible match. They have four catchers, including young major leaguers Wilson Ramos and Jesus Flores. Ramos won the starting job last year, hitting 15 homers in 113 games, while Flores played his way back from a knee injury that cost him the 2010 season. Both project to be major league starters, according to scouts. Reports out of Washington indicate manager Davey Johnson likes his middle infield combination of shortstop Ian Desmond and second baseman Danny Espinosa.
GOOD TIMING
The D-backs' day off Thursday dovetails nicely with the NCAA West Regional at US Airways Center. After a morning mountain bike ride, Kirk Gibson plans to watch his alma mater, Michigan State, play Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen.
Gibson and Spartans' coach Tom Izzo are friends, and they appear to have a lot in common.
"They put on shoulder pads to practice rebounding," Gibson said the other day.
FRIDAY PROBABLES
After a D-backs' final day off of the spring, Joe Saunders (0-1, 9.53 ERA) is to make his fourth start against Chicago White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd (0-0, 2.25) at Glendale's Camelback Ranch at 7:05 pm Friday.
Right-handers Chris Jakubauskas and Bryan Shaw and left-handers Craig Breslow and Joe Paterson also are scheduled to pitch for the D-backs. Former D-backs right-hander Brian Bruney is among those scheduled to throw for the White Sox.
NOTES
Left fielder Jason Kubel was removed from the lineup Wednesday because of tightness in his quadriceps. Kubel said he felt a twinge while scoring in the D-backs' 8-7 victory over Cincinnati on Sunday, but that it did not crop up again until he ran out a groundball in his first at-bat Tuesday. "Going down the line I felt a little tightness when I ran," said Kubel, who singled in a later at-bat. "It won't be too long. Lately we've been loosening up and stretching it out and it goes away." Kubel also likely will be held out of Friday's game, also. … The Dbacks are on the Sergei Bubka sellout trajectory this spring – they have set six Salt River Fields attendance records this spring, starting with 12,528 against Colorado in the opener March 3. Since then the D-backshave announced crowd increases of 18, six, seven, 16 and four fans.
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