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Hudson homer lifts Diamondbacks past Reds

Apr 10, 2007 - 6:48 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks needed some late-inning heroics to push their winning streak to five games.

Orlando Hudson broke an eighth-inning tie with a solo homer to lead the Diamondbacks to a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Hudson came to the plate with two outs in the frame and lifted a 2-1 fastball from righthanded reliever Kirk Saarloos (0-1) into the left field seats for his second homer of the season.

"I was just trying to put the ball in play," Hudson said. "Even though I am in the three-hole the power is not expected from me. I am not Chipper Jones or David Ortiz. I am not a home run hitter but the baseball gods shined on me tonight."

The run was the first run allowed by Saarloos this season.

"It was a changeup that didn't have a lot of late movement and it stayed in the middle," Saarloos said. "It was a good pitch to hit and he did what he was supposed to. I left it up and he did what he needed to."

Arizona reliever Brandon Lyon (1-0) picked up the win with a scoreless eighth inning and Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his fourth save in five opportunities.

The Reds wasted a strong start from Bronson Arroyo, who did not allow a hit until the fifth inning. The righthander allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings.

"Bronson was outstanding," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "Other than a bloop double that led off the inning when they scored, he did a great job. We just couldn't get any big hits for him."

Diamondbacks starter Doug Davis allowed two runs and five hits in six innings, striking out four. The lefthander struggled with his control, walking three and managing only 54 strikes among his 102 pitches.

"It is a matter of me repeating my mechanics and not getting long," Davis said. "I need to get the first strike because every hitter is better when you fall behind. They can be more selective. I have to get strike one. Sometimes when I don't, I fight myself and make it harder."

Chris Snyder tied the game in the seventh when his sacrifice fly plated Chad Tracy, who led off the inning with a double. Conor Jackson walked then Jerry Hairston laid down a sacrifice bunt to get Tracy over to third. It was the first time Hairston was asked to bunt since his rookie season in 2004.

"In baseball you have to do the small things too," Hairston said. "It was a tough pitch, too. He was throwing nasty sliders and curveballs and those are not the easiest pitches to bunt. I just wanted to concentrate and go down the first base line because it is a lot easier to go that way with a slider than to try and pull it down the third base line."

It was the Diamondbacks' first win in a home opener since April 1, 2002.

"You want to play well in the home opener because that is the one time everybody is watching," Diamondback manager Bob Melvin said. "We had a nice road trip but it is that first look at home. ... They are watching you because it is the home opener so it can be a bit of a dicey game."