Tuesday night, Tim Hudson became just the third active pitcher (Andy Pettitte and Roy Halladay) to reach 200 victories. And dude did it in style.
The righty scattered three hits over seven stellar innings and blasted his third career home run (you can credit Bryce Harper with the assist) while powering the Atlanta Braves to an 8-1 victory over the Washington Nationals.
"It was just one of those nights where things were lined up," Hudson said following the game. "The stars were aligned, and I guess it was meant to be."
"He pitched a heck of a ballgame," Washington manager Davey Johnson said. "You have to tip your hat. That's the best I've seen him use all his pitches."
All-time, Hudson is the 113th pitcher with 200 wins, but that's not the most impressive feat. Of the modern-day 200-game winners, only Whitey Ford (.690), Pedro Martinez (.687), Lefty Grove (.680), Christy Mathewson (.665), Halladay (.663) and Roger Clemens (.658) have a better winning percentage than Hudson's .656.
"It's a great accomplishment for anybody," Hudson said. "But honestly, I feel like it's something along the way, and I hope I can accomplish a lot more in this game. I feel like I can play for a while. I feel like I haven't missed a beat from 17 or 18 years ago. I'm just a little more crafty nowadays, and I definitely have more pop."
And speaking of pop (and, yes, I know Hudson meant on the mound and not at the plate), according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Bob Lemon was the only other pitcher to hit a home run in the same game in which he notched his 200th win.
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