After two very good games to begin the first interleague series of the season for the Braves and Rays, the best pitching matchup was set for Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of the weekend. Tim Hudson and David Price had both been on quite the roll lately, coming up big for their respective clubs in their last few starts.
It was Hudson who came away victorious this time around as the Braves blanked the Rays by a score of 2-0.
David Ross got Atlanta on the scoreboard early with an opposite field homer in the third inning, his second blast of the year. Jason Heyward then came up with a huge RBI-single in the sixth inning with two outs to drive Freddie Freeman home from second base.
After recording two quick outs in the eighth inning, things got dicey for the Braves. Hudson surrendered an infield single with two outs, which prompted manager Fredi Gonzalez to remove him from the game. Jonny Venters, who has struggled in recent weeks, hit the next two batters to load the bases. Luke Scott scalded a ball to the right side of the infield which likely would have gotten through for a hit, but Carlos Pena was unable to avoid getting hit by the ball while running the bases. The play was ruled dead and Atlanta survived the sudden scare.
Craig Kimbrel worked a perfect ninth inning to record his 13th save of the season.
With the 2-0 victory complete, the Braves will now head to rainy Cincinnati for another series with the Reds.
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