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Hudson's HR helps Dodgers beat A's 3-2

Jun 19, 2009 - 6:08 AM LOS ANGELES(AP) -- Joe Torre got an opportunity to match wits with Sparky Anderson during his first two seasons as a big league manager in the late 1970s with the New York Mets, losing 14 of 20 games to the Cincinnati Reds.

In time, Torre got better at the job - and now he has more victories than the Hall of Famer. Torre earned his 2,195th regular-season win Thursday night, taking over sole possession of fifth on the career list with the Dodgers' 3-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

"If you told me a dozen years ago that I'd be in this rarefied air, I'd tell you you're full of baloney - because I certainly started way under .500 when I took over the Yankees in 1996," Torre said. "But I have to thank George Steinbrenner for putting me in a position to do this. I've admired what Sparky did for all those years, and I'm proud to be in that company."

Orlando Hudson homered, pinch-hitter Mark Loretta drove in the go-ahead run and Randy Wolf pitched six solid innings to help the Dodgers take the rubber game of the interleague series and improve to a major league-best 44-23.

"Joe passed another great man in Mr. Anderson. Just to be in uniform and be a part of this is a big deal," Hudson said. "He knows the game because he's played it and managed for so many years. He's got four World Series rings and tons of pennants, and he's gone to the playoffs year after year. That's the beauty of playing for somebody who understands the game and knows how hard it is."

Brad Ziegler (1-3) relieved Oakland starter Vin Mazzaro after six innings, giving up a one-out double in the seventh to James Loney and a walk to Russell Martin. Loretta, hitless in his previous 14 at-bats as a pinch hitter, singled to left field to snap a 2-2 tie.

Wolf allowed a run and five hits. Rookie Brent Leach (2-0) got the victory, getting Adam Kennedy to ground into an inning-ending double play in the seventh after Cory Wade gave up the tying run.

Wolf has 10 no-decisions in 15 starts this season. He allowed two hits over five innings in his previous start at Texas, but a power failure led to a 1-hour, 41-minute delay and the hard-luck left-hander did not return to the mound. The Dodgers scored all of their runs after the game resumed, and won 3-1.

With closer Jonathan Broxton sitting out his second straight game after getting a cortisone shot to treat a sore toe on his right foot, Ramon Troncoso got the final two outs for his fourth save in five attempts after 1 1-3 scoreless innings by Ronald Belisario.

Juan Pierre singled in Russell Martin in the fifth to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. Martin led off with an infield hit and advanced on Wolf's sacrifice.

Pierre is batting .323 with 19 RBIs in 38 games since left fielder Manny Ramirez was suspended on May 7 for violating Major League Baseball's substance abuse policy.

In the seventh, Pierre made a costly split-second decision to relay the ball to second on a pinch single by Nomar Garciaparra with one out and the speedy Rajai Davis on first base. Davis looked over his shoulder at Pierre while rounding third and coach Mike Gallego waved him home with the tying run. Garciaparra was not credited with an RBI.

"First of all, Raj has to read that ball to make sure it's falling in, which he did well, then he sprinted hard to third," manager Bob Geren said. "And when Pierre's throw went toward second, Mike saw it and waved him, and Raj didn't slow down. That was a heads-up play by my third base coach, and it gave us a chance."

Kurt Suzuki hit a two-out RBI double in the third but the Dodgers tied it at 1 in the bottom half. Hudson drove a 1-0 pitch to center field with two out for his fifth homer and the only one allowed by Mazzaro in 25 2-3 innings spanning his first four big league starts.

"It got too much of the plate and he got it up in the air," Mazzaro said. "I mean, you're going to give up home runs, but it's what you do afterwards. You just can't lose your focus. You've just got to keep going out and battling."

Mazzaro allowed two runs and five hits in six innings and struck out five. The right-hander set up Oakland's first run with a sacrifice, and got another one his next time up.

Mazzaro also had two in his previous start last Friday at San Francisco, which made him the first A's pitcher with two sacrifices in one game since Ken Holtzman on Aug. 27, 1972 - the year before the American League adopted the designated hitter rule.

NOTES: The A's activated OF Ryan Sweeney from the 15-day disabled list and optioned OF Chris Denorfia to Triple-A Sacramento. Sweeney had been sidelined since June 3 because of a sprained left knee.