Anderson pitches NL West champion Dodgers past Giants
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Brett Anderson is optimistic that after a healthy and productive season he can carry that momentum right into the playoffs.
He hopes Dodgers manager Don Mattingly agrees and uses him during the best-of-five Division Series against the New York Mets.
Anderson pitched two-hit ball into the eighth inning of his final regular-season start, and NL West champion Los Angeles wrapped up its road schedule with a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.
''These aren't games just to play games, we want home-field advantage,'' Anderson said.
The Dodgers and Mets are tied at 89-70 and each have three games left. If they finish even, the Mets hold the tiebreaker because they beat the Dodgers in the season series.
Anderson (10-9) retired 14 straight batters following Kevin Frandsen's one-out single in the third before Jarrett Parker singled to start the eighth. The lefty made his 31st start for a career high, topping his 30 outings in 2009 as a rookie with Oakland.
Healthy for the season again, he also reached a high for innings with 180 1-3.
Just three balls left the infield against Anderson and no San Francisco runner reached second base until an eighth-inning throwing error by second baseman Howie Kendrick. Anderson gave up four hits, struck out three and didn't walk a batter in 7 2-3 innings.
''We just couldn't generate any offense,'' Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ''He had us off balance all day.''
Anderson also scored his first career run, noting, ''I prefer not to slide and I didn't want to go 100 percent and pull a hamstring.''
Tim Hudson (8-9) allowed three runs and three hits in 2 1-3 innings in the final start of his 17-year big league career.
Chase Utley hit a sacrifice fly after Andre Ethier's leadoff triple in the second, Adrian Gonzalez added an RBI single and Ethier drove in a run on a groundout for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles split the four-game series with the reigning World Series champions, bouncing back a day after being shut out 5-0 on Mike Leake's two-hitter.
Mattingly plans to stick with his best lineup the rest of the way, resting those who need it.
''We plan on playing through,'' he said. ''We'll play the lineup we want.''
The 40-year-old Hudson said his farewell last weekend across the bay in Oakland where his career began in 1999, pitching opposite former teammate Barry Zito.
Bochy expected Hudson's outing to be short considering he has been bothered by a tender left hip. Hudson walked off to a roaring ovation in the third, tipping his cap in every direction before going through a lineup of teammates who moved in front of the dugout rail to offer hugs and handshakes.
Hudson will be honored during the weekend along with lefty Jeremy Affeldt, who announced his retirement Thursday and relieved Hudson.
Hudson is the majors' active wins leader for a few more days with 222 career victories. He won his first World Series ring last season and has thrown 46,631 pitches against 13,005 batters.
''I was surprised how good I was able to hold it together there,'' Hudson said. ''The last couple weeks have been a little bit of an emotional rollercoaster for me. I've had so much fun over the last 17 years and today was a really special day for me.''
Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his 35th save.
FILM SESSION
Fans were asked to boo during the ''Kiss-Cam'' and seventh-inning stretch as Netflix filmed for a portion of an upcoming original series, ''Fuller House,'' due out next year.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: OF Yasiel Puig was playing four innings in an instructional league game and is now running at 100 percent on his strained right hamstring in what Mattingly called ''pretty miraculous'' and ''legendary'' - yet that doesn't mean he's certain to make the division series roster for the best-of-five series against the Mets. ''Like three days ago he was running at 80 percent and having pain and then all of a sudden he's going 100 percent and feeling fine,'' Mattingly said. ''It's been pretty miraculous, actually, to me.''
Giants: World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner is being shut down and won't start Sunday, with Yusmeiro Petit likely to pitch. Bumgarner threw 270 innings last year and another 218 1-3 this season. ... OF Nori Aoki was being examined by renowned concussion specialist Dr. Micky Collins at the University of Pittsburgh on Thursday. Even if cleared he is ''doubtful'' to play the rest of the season.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: LHP Alex Wood (11-12) starts Friday night against San Diego looking to bounce back after his eight runs allowed to Colorado last Sunday matched a career high.
Giants: Rookie RHP Chris Heston (12-10) looks to finish his first year in the majors with consecutive wins as he pitches the opener of a season-ending series against Colorado.