RHP Daniel Hudson was officially named the Sunday starter after he got through a bullpen session unaffected Friday. Hudson has been out since April 19 with a shoulder impingement. “Last year, we had a lot of success with Ian (Kennedy) and ‘Huddy,'” manager Kirk Gibson said. “He’s obviously a frontline starter for us … a chance to get us deep into a game, and that’s very important for us.” Hudson will be limited to about 90 to 100 pitches, Gibson said, after he threw 71 pitches in a rehab start at Class AAA Reno on Monday.
LF Jason Kubel had two of the D-backs’ five hits, including his fourth home run of the season, when he turned 30 on Friday. He also walked twice, and he leads D-backs regulars in on-base percentage (.383) and slugging percentage (.456) while hitting .289. Kubel leads the team with 11 doubles and is tied with C Miguel Montero with 21 RBI.
RHP Takashi Saito (calf) threw batting practice at Salt River Fields on Thursday and is expected to throw another session Monday before possibly beginning a rehabilitation assignment. “Two or three weeks,” Saito said when asked a timeframe for his return. He has been on the disabled list since suffering his injury two days before the start of the regular season.
RHP Ian Kennedy fell to 3-5 while suffering his fifth straight loss, the longest losing streak of his career. He gave up four runs in six innings of a 7-1 loss to Milwaukee on Friday. “It’s a bad run. It’s been rough so far,” he said. Kennedy gave up two home runs, and has allowed nine in 61 1/3 innings this season. He gave up 19 homers in 222 innings while going 21-4 a year ago.
C Miguel Montero agreed to a five-year, $60 million contract that is to be announced Saturday, two sources confirmed.
