Marlins 7 - 2 Giants
Final
  for this game

Hudson seeks another win in opener with Marlins

May 7, 2015 - 2:15 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Tim Hudson looks to build off his first victory of the season on Thursday night when the San Francisco Giants play the first of four straight meetings with the visiting Miami Marlins.

Hudson went 0-2 over his first four outings and saw the Giants plate just three runs total over his first three starts. He didn't factor into a 5-4 win at Colorado on April 25 before beating the Los Angeles Angels by the same score on Saturday.

The veteran righty allowed three runs on two hits, both solo homers, and two walks over a season-high eight-plus innings. Hudson added three strikeouts while lowering his earned run average to 3.78.

"It does make our job a lot more easier," Hudson said of the offensive help. "We can go out there and be a lot more aggressive in the strike zone."

Hudson has excellent career numbers against the Marlins, going 15-4 with a 2.87 ERA in 26 games.

The Giants got excellent production from their pitching to begin this week. They won the final three contests of a five-game winning streak in shutout fashion before suffering a 9-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night in the finale of a three-game set.

Brandon Belt doubled and tripled in last night's loss, while Nori Aoki drove in the lone run for the Giants. Chris Heston was tagged in the loss for allowing 11 hits and five runs with four strikeouts and three walks over his five-inning outing.

"It was a battle from the start for him," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said of Heston. "Every inning it seemed like they had men on base. It was an off day for everybody."

Miami is counting on Dan Haren not being off tonight as the hurler aims to secure a third straight winning start.

Haren has kicked off his first season with the Marlins by going 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA through five starts. He padded those numbers with a 7-0 win over Philadelphia on Saturday, logging six scoreless frames of four-hit ball. Haren also struck out four without giving up a walk.

"We were able to get a bunch of runs," said Haren. "I just tried to pound the strike zone the best I could and let the defense work."

The right-hander, who has allowed two or fewer runs in all but one of his outings this season, is 6-6 with a 2.94 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) against the Giants.

The Marlins have lost three of their past four and were out-slugged 7-5 by the Washington Nationals on Wednesday in the rubber match of a three-game set. Tom Koehler took the loss for giving up five runs over six innings. He gave up three home runs to the Nats' Bryce Harper.

Giancarlo Stanton blasted a three-run, eighth-inning homer for the Marlins. Dee Gordon had three hits to increase his major league-leading average to .430 and Martin Prado went 3-for-5.

"We did a good job of scoring enough runs to put pressure on them," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said of the series. "We just weren't able to hold them."

The Marlins have won 12 of their past 15 games in San Francisco.






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