Photo by Jordan Megenhardt

By Greg Dillard

Since arriving in Arizona in July of 2010, Daniel Hudson has done nothing but dominate as a member of the D-backs’ starting rotation.

The right-hander has collected 15 wins, including eight this season. In his latest outing, Hudson took the mound against his former team on Friday night at Chase Field.

Hudson faced the player he was traded for in White Sox pitcher Edwin Jackson and simply outpitched the former D-back.

The right-hander needed a career-high 119 pitches to limit the White Sox to one run on three hits en route to a 4-1 win and his first career complete game. 

“It was very exciting,” Hudson said. “Obviously, defense played great behind me, (with) a lot of ground balls tonight. I was just trying to go out there, work ahead in the count and work down in the zone.”

After allowing a pair of base runners in the first, Hudson settled in to retire 15 consecutive White Sox batters through the sixth inning. The Chicago lineup mustered just a single hit in the game’s first six frames.

A solo home run off the bat of Paul Konerko in the seventh was the lone White Sox run of the game. Hudson jogged back to the mound in the top of the ninth with the heart of the Chicago order due up.

“He threw the ball great,” manager Kirk Gibson said. “He had good command. He wanted a complete game. He said he wanted it bad, and that’s his first complete game.”

Carlos Quentin was hit by a pitch to start the inning, but Hudson rebounded by striking out Konerko for the first out. One batter later, A.J. Pierzynski grounded into a 1-6-3 double play to end the game.

“It’s a little bit special,” Hudson said. “I didn’t have any different mentality going out there than I had for the whole year. It’s just another game for me. Going against the team that drafted me and gave me my first chance in the big leagues was a lot of fun and to be able to do what I did was cool.”

Hudson’s success wasn’t limited to the mound, as he even contributed at the plate. With Ryan Roberts on first, Hudson drove an RBI double into the right-centerfield gap.

Hudson’s RBI is the 16th by a D-backs pitcher this season, which leads the entire National League.

“He’s hit a couple balls that way,” Gibson said. “He’s got some pop that way, and it was a good count there to get a good pitch.”

Drew flashes the leather at shortstop

Stephen Drew was kept busy at shortstop throughout Friday night’s series opener. Hudson received plenty of help from the slick-fielding Drew, who set a career high and a team record for assists in a single game with 11.

Drew corralled two or more ground balls in three innings and helped turn a game-ending double play in the ninth. 

That total is the highest amount of single-game assists by a shortstop this season.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that many,” Gibson said. “It was a pretty good sight. Stephen Drew is pretty sure-handed.”