Hudson tunes up for opening day, pitches 6 shutout innings as Braves beat Nationals 4-3
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Tim Hudson tuned up for his opening day start with six scoreless innings and Justin Upton hit a towering home run to lead the Atlanta Braves over the Washington Nationals 4-3 Thursday night.
Before the game, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Hudson would make his third opening day start for Atlanta.
Hudson came into the game with a 5.40 ERA this spring. He allowed six hits, struck out five and walked none while throwing 45 of his 65 pitches for strikes.
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Upton's homer leading off the sixth inning against Nationals starter Dan Haren cleared the scoreboard in deep left-center field. It was his fifth homer of the spring and gave him 17 RBIs in 20 games.
Haren worked 5 1-3 innings and allowed eight hits and four runs.