ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tim Hudson scattered four hits over 7 2-3 innings, David Ross homered and the Atlanta Braves beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 on Sunday.
Hudson (3-1), who is 8-1 overall against the Rays, retired nine in a row before Ben Zobrist opened the fourth with a line single to right.
Ross put the Braves up 1-0 on an opposite-field, solo-homer to right in the third. Jason Heyward made it 2-0 on a two-out, RBI single during the sixth.
Jonny Venters, who replaced Hudson after B.J. Upton had an infield single with two outs in the eighth, loaded the bases by hitting both Matt Joyce and Carlos Pena. The left-hander caught a break when Pena was called out between first and second when he was hit by Luke Scott's grounder. Scott was credited with a single on the play.
Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 13th save to complete a five-hitter.
David Price (6-3) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings for Tampa Bay.
The Rays loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth when Zobrist was hit by a pitch, Upton singled and Joyce walked, but failed to score when Pena flew out to deep center.
After Sean Rodriguez had a one-out bloop double down the right-field line in the seventh, Hudson got out of the jam by getting consecutive grounders from Will Rhymes and Elliot Johnson.
Rodriguez, playing third, took a hit away from Ross leading off the fifth when he dove into foul territory to field a grounder and then throw the Atlanta catcher out at first.
Braves third baseman Chipper Jones was out of the lineup for the second consecutive game because of a bruised left calf and is day to day. He was hit by Upton's hard one-hop liner in Friday night's game.
"He's walking around better," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Hopefully (he'll play Monday) or maybe even Tuesday."
NOTES: There was a video tribute after the first inning for Jones, who is retiring after this season. This was the Florida native's final regular-season visit to Tropicana Field. Jones, who received a standing ovation during the video, left the dugout and tipped his hat to the fans. Jones plans to use a protective shin guard the rest of the season. ... Rays INF Jeff Keppinger has an injured right foot after getting hit by a foul ball in the dugout on Saturday. ... Tampa Bay C Jose Molina left after six innings as a precaution after taking a ball off the mask.