• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Hudson, Braves eye series victory over Rockies

Sep 6, 2012 - 1:12 PM (Sports Network) - Even at the age of 37, Tim Hudson has been one of the Atlanta Braves' most consistent pitchers this season.

Hudson, though, put forth a disappointing effort in his last trip to the mound and he'll look to rebound on Thursday afternoon in the finale of a four-game series with the Colorado Rockies.

The veteran lost for the first time in 11 starts on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies, getting roughed up for five runs on nine hits and three walks in five innings of work. His seven-decision win streak came to a halt with his first loss since July 1, leaving him 13-5 with a 3.76 earned run average through 23 starts this season.

Atlanta had gone 9-1 over his unbeaten streak.

"Honestly, I wasn't very good today," Hudson told Atlanta's website following the setback. "They caught me on a bad day, and it was a one-sided ballgame."

The righty won't be looking at the tape from his previous outing against the Rockies in an effort to get back on track.

In Colorado on May 4, Hudson was hammered for six earned runs over six innings and did not factor into an eventual 9-8 victory. Atlanta had to rally after Hudson yielded three run-scoring singles during a five-run first for the Rockies.

In nine lifetime meetings with the Rockies, Hudson is 4-2 with a 4.87 ERA.

For the Rockies, they are left wondering what kind of season 24-year-old Jhoulys Chacin could have put forth had he been healthy.

Chacin missed nearly four months of action due to a right shoulder ailment and has gone 2-1 in three starts since his return, logging 18 innings and giving up just three runs.

The right-hander is coming off a win over the San Diego Padres on Saturday as he held them to a run on five hits and two walks in a 9-1 triumph.

"He was unbelievable. That was the best I've seen him," Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler said of Chacin's effort. "It was definitely a bright spot for us."

Chacin is 2-4 with a 4.85 ERA in eight games this season and has struggled in two previous encounters with the Braves. He is 0-1 and has lasted a combined 9 2/3 frames, yielding nine runs on eight hits and 13 walks.

Pitching dominated Wednesday's meeting between these clubs, with Atlanta's Mike Minor taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 1-0 win.

Minor had his bid broken up by a Jordan Pacheco single to begin the frame, but struck out three of the next four batters faced to end the inning and his outing.

"He's a good pitcher, so you know when he has command of all of his pitches, it is tough to get to him," Braves center fielder Michael Bourn said of Minor. "He throws pretty hard. He comes from the left side and has some movement. He throws the ball well, man. He's only going to get better as he continues to learn and continues to develop as a pitcher."

Eric O'Flaherty logged the first two outs of the eighth and Craig Kimbrel posted a four-out save to give the wild card-leading Braves their third victory in four games.

Chipper Jones scored the game's lone run in the fourth inning on Brian McCann's force out, handing Colorado's Alex White a tough-luck loss.

White hurled four innings and was charged with an unearned run due to an error on the scoring play.

"I am extremely disappointed that we got beat," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "As we have been doing for the last five weeks, we've played as hard as you can ask a club to play, but we couldn't get a timely hit."

Colorado has lost six of its last seven to Atlanta, a span that includes getting swept in three games at home from May 4-6. The Braves have won 11 of the previous 14 encounters overall.