Dakota Hudson allowed his first homer of August in his final of six outings in August. But he also pitched 7 2/3 innings for the first time in his big-league career as the Cardinals got a start on their four-games-in-two-days marathon by holding off Cincinnati 10-6 Saturday afternoon before a paid house of 44,738 at Busch Stadium.
Hudson, the top ground-ball pitcher in the majors, netted just six ground-ball outs out of the 23 he recorded although he had a career-best eight strikeouts. But, after giving up Eugenio Suarez’s two-run homer, the 24-year-old righthander allowed two more hits _ four for the game _ as recorded his 14th victory in 20 decisions and his 12th in his past 15 verdicts.