KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Daniel Hudson made his long-awaited return to the big leagues and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night, ending an odyssey for the veteran right-hander that began with torn ligaments in his left knee and included several setbacks in his recovery.
Hudson, a former Princess Anne High and Old Dominion standout, officially rejoined the club about 30 minutes before first pitch in the opener of a three-game series in Kansas City, then allowed one hit and struck out two in a scoreless relief appearance that helped preserve the Dodgers’ 9-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
“It just felt good to be back out there with them,” Hudson said. “I felt really good out there.”
The 36-year-old Hudson hurt his ACL just over a year ago in a win over Atlanta. Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his pitch down the third-base line, and Hudson tried to reverse direction after his delivery had carried him toward first base. His knee locked up and he went to the ground in pain.
The Dodgers hoped that Hudson would recover in time for opening day, but lingering pain in the knee combined with tendinitis in his right ankle kept him on the bench. He received a cortisone injection and restarted the build-up near the end of May.
“The timing is perfect,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ll give him three months to go hard and pick us up.”
The Dodgers, who headed into Saturday two games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West, already have a dominant closer in Evan Phillips, who is 1-2 with a 1.97 ERA and 11 saves in 12 chances across 32 innings. So while Hudson did have a 2.22 ERA with five saves in 24 1/3 innings last season, the veteran reliever could be headed for a setup role out of the Los Angeles bullpen.
He also could be headed for a leadership role there. Hudson has made 479 appearances with seven clubs over 13 seasons.
“He’s just another adult in the pen,” Roberts said. “He’s been battle-tested. He has a good heart rate. He gets righties and lefties out. He’s got the respect of everyone in the pen and on the club. He’s certainly a huge addition.”
