ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ervin Santana pitched a four-hitter for his sixth career shutout and the Los Angeles Angels welcomed former Oakland nemesis Tim Hudson back to the Big A for the first time in almost seven years with a six-run third inning that carried them to a 9-0 rout of the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.
In the first interleague game of the season for both teams, Santana (2-4) went the distance for the 10th time in 180 career starts. He struck out seven, and walked none for the first time in 10 starts this season.
The right-hander got offensive help from Mark Trumbo with a three-run homer and Alberto Callaspo with three RBIs.
Hudson (4-4) threw 77 pitches over 3 2-3 innings, allowing eight runs, seven hits and three walks. The 13-year veteran, facing the Angels for the first time since an 8-4 interleague loss in Atlanta on June 8, 2005, also hit three batters - one more than he plunked in 62 1-3 innings during his nine previous starts this season.
It was the third time that the three-time All-Star hit three batters in a game in 354 starts. He also did it April 21, 2004, at Seattle in a 7-4 victory with Oakland, and June 11 of that season in a 6-1 interleague win against Pittsburgh.
Peter Bourjos, the Angels' No. 9 hitter, triggered the team's most productive inning of the season with a leadoff double that ended an 0-for-23 drought. Bobby Abreu had an RBI double, Torii Hunter singled home another run and Abreu scored on Hank Conger's groundout. Trumbo capped the rally with his seventh homer, which landed behind the double-decker bullpen in left field.
Hudson opened the fourth by hitting his first two batters - Bourjos on an 0-1 pitch and Maicer Izturis on a full count. Both advanced on Erick Aybar's bunt, and Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez went to the mound with assistant trainer Jim Lovell to check on Hudson. The right-hander then walked Abreu and struck out Hunter before Callaspo chased him with a two-run single that made it 8-0.
It was Hudson's first outing at Angel Stadium since June 22, 2004, with the Athletics, when he lost 6-1. He came in 13-6 with a 3.49 ERA in 24 career starts against the Angels.
Callaspo came up with the bases loaded again in the sixth against Cristhian Martinez and drove in the Angels' final run with a groundout. The run total matched their entire output in their previous five games combined. They came in having scored only one run in their previous 30 innings. In four of Santana's previous six starts, his teammates didn't score while he was in the game.
NOTES: Atlanta C Brian McCann returned to Angel Stadium for the first time since winning All-Star MVP honors for his go-ahead, three-run double off Matt Thornton last July, when the NL snapped a 13-year drought with a 3-1 victory at the Big A. ... With the Braves able to use a designated hitter in an American League ballpark, 3B Chipper Jones filled that role and was 0 for 3 without hitting a ball out of the infield. In 25 career games as a DH, Jones is batting .273 with seven homers, 12 RBIs and 12 walks. LF Martin Prado started at 3B for the sixth time this season. ... Scot Shields, the rubber-armed setup man for the Angels' bullpen and a member of the 2002 World Series championship club, threw out a ceremonial first pitch. He announced his retirement on March 18 at age 35 after 10 big league seasons, all with the Angels. A knee injury limited him to 63 appearances over the last two seasons. ... The Angels are 140-109 against NL teams since the inception of interleague play in 1997. The Braves are 119-108.