Tim Hudson, the Atlanta Braves' anchor, in not only the pitching staff, but the clubhouse, exited Wednesday's game in Queens against the New York Mets after Eric Young Jr. stepped on his right leg. While covering first base, Hudson recorded the out, but not before Young Jr. stepped on the back of his right leg, sending the 38-year-old right-hander to the ground. The fear is a broken ankle or maybe an Achilles injury.
Hudson was eventually carted off after laying on the ground for about 10 minutes. He couldn't get on his feet. Of course, Young Jr. felt terrible and remained on the field until paramedics were able to take the Braves' pitcher off the field. Hudson exited the game with a 6-0 lead and two runners on base.
The Mets were threatening with runners on first and second, and only one out in the eighth. Young Jr. grounded a ball to first baseman, Freddie Freeman. Freeman couldn't field it cleanly as the ball bounced off his chest, forcing Hudson to cover first base. While covering the bag and turning his back to Young Jr., Hudson simply forgot to take his foot off the bag as he clearly had enough time to remove his foot from the bag.
New York eventually drove those two runs in as Luis Avilan came in to relieve Hudson, as Daniel Murphy lined a double over the head of Jose Constanza in the bottom of the eighth. The Braves eventually got out of the inning as Jordan Walden struck out David Wright to end the threat.
The injury couldn't come at a worse time. Hudson was personally in the midst of a great run, having won three straight games. Before his injury, Hudson was firing and posting zeros on the scoreboard. He had pitched 7.2 innings and struck out nine, while only surrendering four hits and three free passes. The two runs that scored with Avilan on the mound were charged to Hudson, but he still put up a great outing.
The injuries to the Braves' staff are opening slots in the starting rotation. It initially looked as though Kris Medlen was going to be moved to the bullpen. However, following the injury, the Braves will slot in Brandon Beachy and Alex Wood to the rotation.
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