Hudson allows 3 HRs, loses 1st MLB start

MILWAUKEE -- While one start won’t define the direction of Dakota Hudson’s budding Major League career, it will stand to remind the Cardinals' No. 3 prospect of where there’s still room to improve as he sets his sights on sticking in the club's rotation for the long term.

A pitcher who ascended through the Minors -- capturing Pitcher of the Year honors in the Texas League (2017) and Pacific Coast League (2018) along the way -- on the strength of his sinker couldn’t contain the Brewers offense in a ballpark that has played small all series. Milwaukee slugged three more home runs off Hudson in his first MLB start, handing the Cardinals a 4-2 loss on Saturday at Miller Park.

“I felt like they had a different scouting report on me,” Hudson said. “They knew what they wanted, and they executed.”

And so the task now falls on Hudson to counter.

An opponent he held scoreless over three relief appearances last season stacked its lineup with left-handed batters (six in total, plus the switch-hitting Yasmani Grandal) and committed to a collective approach: Ambush pitches on the outer part of the plate and drive them to the opposite field.

It was executed early and with relative ease. The Brewers’ three first-inning hits all went to left or left-center field. So did the next four, scattered over the following three frames.

“I thought [hitting coach] Andy Haines put together a great game plan for our guys against Hudson,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “[Hudson] is good at putting that sinking fastball on the outside corner, and [a hitter has to] not try to pull it.”

It’s an approach other offenses will surely try to emulate, which puts the onus on Hudson to adjust back. Catcher Yadier Molina made sure Hudson got a start on that by guiding the rookie through a changing game plan as the 88-pitch outing unfolded.

“Definitely took some ideas [out of it],” Hudson said. “It’s all execution when it came down to it. I feel like it was hit-or-miss with some of my offspeed stuff, and I feel like that’s usually what neutralizes lefties. Just being able to take that and locate my fastball a little bit better and really home in on my focus level doing that will help out.”

Hudson’s start on Saturday came after a pair of distinguished seasons in Minor League rotations and on the heels of a standout spring in which he outlasted four other candidates, all of whom had previous big league starting experience. Along the way, however, Hudson has routinely been challenged by left-handed hitters.

They posted an OPS of .759 against Hudson in 26 relief appearances last season, compared to a .406 mark by right-handed batters. He’ll see even more left-handed competition as a starting pitcher.

“He’s going to have to, like most guys, throw inside,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “Then he’s just going to have to make good pitches with his sinker and his breaking balls. His slider was good tonight. It’s just a matter of being more consistent really.”

The second key to sustained starting success will be that sinker, a pitch that, when executed well, can produce efficient innings and loads of ground balls.

As a reliever for the Cardinals last season, Hudson finished as one of five Major League pitchers to face at least 110 batters and not surrender a home run. In fact, he had given up only seven homers in 305 professional innings.

But Hudson’s sinker caught the too much of the plate too often on Saturday. Christian Yelich teed off on one such pitch in the first inning for his third home run in three games. Travis Shaw and Mike Moustakas took Hudson deep in the third, a half inning after the Cardinals tied the game at 1.

All three home runs registered exit velocities of at least 106 mph: Moustakas at 109.1 mph, Yelich at 108.4 mph and Shaw at 106.3 mph. That equaled the number of batted balls Hudson allowed all last season with an exit velocity of more than 106 mph.

“It’s my first start,” Hudson reminded afterward. “These guys have seen me. I haven’t necessarily seen them a whole lot. But I got a feel for them just like they got a feel for me today.”