| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Hudson cautiously optimistic he will make next start
Sunday August 17, 2003OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Oakland pitcher Tim Hudson is cautiously optimistic he will make his next start Thursday in Boston.
``Mentally I want to make it,'' Hudson said Sunday before the Athletics played the Toronto Blue Jays. ``I don't want to be moved back. Physically we'll see how the treatment goes once we get to Boston and I can play some catch.''
Hudson was hit on the right hand Saturday by Dave Berg's line drive in the seventh inning. He fielded the ball and, after discarding his glove, threw left-handed to record the out.
Hudson left the game after the play and was taken to a hospital for X-rays, which were negative.
He's not expected to pick up a ball until the team arrives in Boston on Tuesday for the start of a three-game series.
``He had some mild swelling in there but we won't know anything until we get to Fenway Park,'' A's manager Ken Macha said. ``He'll get as much treatment as possible to get the swelling out. I just hope we can stick with scenario No. 1 and have him make his start on Thursday.''
Macha said if Hudson can't go, then rookie right-hander Rich Harden will start on Thursday and Hudson would be moved back to Saturday.
Veteran left-hander John Halama would start on Saturday if the injury persists.
A's trainers have already ruled out the disabled list.
``It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be,'' Hudson said. ``The pain eased as time went on. We'll just have to see how it goes.''
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