Tim Hudson made sure the A’s got off on the right off in the first of their seven games with the Red Sox with his best pitching performance of the year.

The Red Sox don’t hit as well away from Fenway, we know that, the stats tell the story. Batting average at home .323, batting average on the road .264, on base percentage at home .395, on base percentage on the road .327, and the numbers go on for the pitching as well.

The only team that has handled the A’s pitching in Oakland has been the Atlanta Braves. Last night was no exception.

Hudson was simply overpowering, nasty, dirty, or any other term you want to use to describe a pitcher who was in complete control of the game.

Pedro Martinez threw 100 pitches in five innings, the toll on Pedro’s arm from his prior three starts, where he threw 367 pitches, was obvious. No doubt he is an overwhelming pitcher too, but last night he had to work overtime because the A’s hitters worked the count to perfection.

Chris Singleton had a big hit driving in the first run, but his best play of the night may have been legging out what looked like a double play ball, forcing Pedro to throw many more pitches in the inning, thus ensuring the Cy Young award winner would be gone after five.

Tonight it is Barry Zito, the Red Sox are 8-12 against lefties on the road and they haven’t seen Mulder or Zito yet) facing soft tossing John Burkett. The Red Sox need a split in this four game series since they get the A’s at home next week for three and can pick up a game if things go according to their plan.

It was only the first game last night and Tim Hudson, more than anyone, made sure the A’s moved into a tie for the wild card lead.

The Red Sox can hit, make no mistake about it, but the A’s can pitch and for one night the best pitching stopped the best hitting.

Click below for more!The A’s suddenly are looking more vulnerable to left handed pitching especially with Eric Chavez (.189 vs. lefties) in the three spot.

The good news is other than Mark Hendrickson, Joe Kennedy, Jamie Moyer, and Jarrod Washburn I can’t think of any other lefty starters that they are likely to see for the rest of the year. The group above hasn’t scared anyone for awhile.

Joel Pineiro lost agin last night, this time to Toronto. Best news for the Mariners is Armando Benitez made his home debut and pitched scoreless ball for 1 1/3 innings. I still say Benitez will help Seattle, he is 3000 miles from the boo birds in New York and his team isn’t headed back there again.

The Mariners face Roy Halladay tonight, it seems like he pitches every other game for Toronto, that’s what working with three days rest will do, a good pitcher can get 40 or more starts and should win 20 games, that’s the way it used to be.

Freddy Garcia pitched well in his last start, Seattle is hoping his roller coaster season will head back up hill again tonight.

Shannon Stewart 0-3, but his team wins again as Kyle Lohse pitches another good game for Minnesota, this time beating Cleveland.

How about the Yankees bullpen? Another meltdown. Boston still looks like a better team to me than the New Yorkers, but the Yanks have the edge in starting pitching with Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, and six inning man Roger Clemens. The Yankee relievers will drag the team down, you just watch and see. If Boston gets any starting pitching whatsoever from pitchers other than Pedro, they will beat NY in the East.

Hey, KC put up 12 runs on NY last night, seven on the pen.

Mike Sweeney is back for KC, but Carlos Beltran is now hurt. If KC can weather the storm until the end of the month, maybe they can hang on. I doubt it, but after 135 games, which is what they will have down by the end of the month, if they are still hanging around, they have to be taken very seriously as a team with division winning character.

KC’s success is a good story.

The Angels feeling the heat from Texas in the west, only three ahead of the last place Rangers, walloped the ChiSox and Bartolo Colon. Scott Schoenweiss let an ugly game get uglier for the Sox and they lost 10-8. Angel closer Troy Percival once again lost it in the ninth, add Percival to the list of Angels not having stellar 2003 seasons.

Kerry Wood did everything he could to help the Cubs last night. Ovtavio Dotel and Billy Wagner did their thing to preserve the Houston win after Wade Miller threw six innings. Jeff Kent, who I still maintain is the difference in the Astro lineup this season had the big hit in the game.

Is the “D Train” getting derailed. When LA lights you up, it bears watching. The kid is a kid pitcher after all and these are the dog days, so watch Dontrelle Willis in his next start.

In 1960, the Orioles had the Kiddie Korps, Jack Fisher, Chuck Estrada, Milt Pappas, Steve Barber, and Jerry Walker, all pitchers around 22 years old. They fought the Yankees until the middle of September when the experienced Bombers finished them off in a critical head to head series.

Kid pitchers must be watched from here until the end of the season, this game has been around a long time and pitchers get tired in August and September, especially the ones who are still learning what a pennant race is all about.

That is pitchers other than the ones on the A’s who are the exception to the rule, they thrive in August and September, it’s October that gives them trouble. And that will change one year, trust me on that one.

With that proviso in mind veteran Mike Mussina faces the unheralded, but effective Darrell May in KC tonight.

Rob Bell seems to have found the fountain of youth in Tampa Bay. The journeyman righty is beating people and lasting six innings or so in each start. Good meaningless game against Rodrigo Lopez tonight.

The Phillies get a breather with the Brew Crew in town for three.

Sidney Ponson gets start number two for SF in NY tonight. With Jason Schmidt resting Ponson becomes a big piece of the Giants puzzle. The Giants just need to hang onto their lead for two more weeks and all will be well until October.

Arizona all of a sudden looking like a team with a playoff pitching staff gets a good look at Cincy and it’s new home run ball park.

Randy Johnson needs to build his arm strength back up, at least that is what Arizona hopes, because the Unit is not a consistent mid nineties fastball pitcher anymore. Plus he is close to forty.

Greg Maddux goes for number 12 tonight against the Padres at home. When the season ends Maddux will have his 15 plus wins once again. Greg Maddux, a true hall of famer to be.

The Red Sox are a very solid team and must be taken very seriously every game. Barry Zito has been plagued by one bad inning for over two months now. John Burkett won’t mesmerize the A’s batters for too long. The A’s lefthanded hitters will get some big hits tonight, the question is how many will Zito give up and will he pitch long enough to get the ball to the bullpen without putting too much stress on the relief staff.

Every day we have another story and in Oakland it is a good one tonight.