Fans salute Tim Hudson, Barry Zito in nostalgic A's-Giants matchup

OAKLAND — It was a late September baseball game where the final score didn't matter. Most fans, if they were honest, didn't really care who won.

It was about witnessing Bay Area baseball history.

Barry Zito. Tim Hudson. The day's starting pitchers, two of the Athletics' Big Three in the early 2000s and both World Series winners with the Giants.

Dominant pitchers in their time, both likely retiring at season's end.

It was about saying goodbye and thank you to men who for years brought success and excitement to Oakland and San Francisco baseball fans.

Saturday, it came full circle: Both pitchers winding down their careers from the same mound on which they started their major league careers more than 15 years ago.

Neither pitcher made it past the third inning in a game that became a slugfest, but both were showered with love from a sellout crowd at the O.co Coliseum as they made their exits.

'There comes times in this game where the moments are a little bigger than the games and the performances,' said Hudson, who played five year in Oakland, nine in Atlanta and signed with the Giants in 2014.

'The fans are awesome here. They've always supported me, from early on in my career,' he said. 'There were a lot of Giants fans here that can appreciate both sides of the field. Classy moment for the fans here.'

Zito, who spent the year in Triple-A Nashville and was called up Sept. 16 after he'd put his baseball career to rest, described Saturday's opportunity as 'magical' and 'storybook.'

He began his career in green and gold in 2000, becoming a dominant trio with Hudson and Mark Mulder for the next four years. After 2006, he signed a long-term deal with the Giants and played across the bay from 2007 to 2013.

Fans had been looking forward to the marquee matchup all week. In parking lot tailgate parties Saturday, they shared memories of the A's four consecutive American League West titles from 2000-2003, when the Big Three dominated with lights-out pitching.

Many of the 36,067 fans at the game wore green and gold or orange and black — or some combination of all of them. Some even donned specially made dual A's-Giants T-shirts.

A's fan Sharon Cola, Giants fan Cathy Murray and her daughter Christine Murray-Ruiz — a fan of both — wore Teamsters Joint Council 7 shirts emblazoned with Oakland and San Francisco World Series logos.

The Pinole friends shook their heads in unison when asked if they cared who won.

'I'm a diehard A's fan. I've been coming for years,' said Cola. 'But it doesn't matter to me today.'

That seemed to be the collective feeling inside the stadium as well.

The crowd welcomed Hudson and Zito with warm standing ovations before the game when they emerged from the dugouts and walked to the outfield to warm up.

Their teammates recognized the special day, too. A's and Giants players lined up near the bullpens to shake hands with their starting pitchers before taking the field.

A's manager Bob Melvin said using Zito against Hudson gave him goosebumps. He even hiked up his uniform socks in honor of Zito's favored 'high socks' look.

Neither pitcher turned in a performance rivaling the old days.

Zito, 37, who has a 102-63 record in 223 starts with the A's and won the 2002 AL Cy Young award, was tagged early as Marlon Byrd rocked a first-inning pitch off the top of the center field wall for a two-run double, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead before Hudson even took the mound.

Although it was Zito who was on a short leash — Melvin said he didn't expect him to throw more than 50 pitches — Hudson never really had his control and was yanked after just 1⅓ innings.

Throwing just 34 pitches, 12 of which were strikes, Hudson hit two batters and walked three, allowing three runs, two earned.

It's rare that an opposing pitcher gets a standing ovation or curtain call after he's removed from a game. But Saturday was unique.

They stood and chanted 'Huddy, Huddy' as the 17-year veteran walked off the mound. After the inning ended, he popped out of the dugout, pointed toward Zito in the opposite dugout, doffed his cap and put his hand over his heart.

It may not be the final goodbye for Hudson, 40, who is scheduled to start Thursday against the Dodgers at AT&T Park. Hudson, the third-oldest active starting pitcher, leads all current pitchers with 222 career wins and is second in starts with 478.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he hated pulling Hudson so early.

'I've never seen him that much out of sync,' he said. 'He might have been caught in the moment. It was a really emotional day for him. But I just felt at that point I had to protect him. It was the last thing I wanted to do in that situation. It was his day.'

Zito didn't last much longer than Hudson, 48 pitches in all, and was replaced in the top of the third after giving up six hits and 4 runs, all earned, including Jarrett Parker's first home run of the day. He had another later and then a grand slam to break the game open.

'I'm sure for both pitchers a lot was going through their heads, the memories and of course the crowd,' Bochy said. 'The emotional part of it, I'm sure that got to both of them.'

The fans showed Zito their love as Melvin replaced him with Pat Venditte in the third inning.

Walking off to rousing cheers, he rubbed his eyes, and later sat in the dugout holding a towel to his face.

For the record, San Francisco led 4-3 at the time. The Giants went on to win 14-10 behind Jarrett's three homers and seven RBIs.

Mulder, who with Zito and Hudson made up Oakland's starting pitching core for four years before being traded to the Cardinals, said before the game he was rooting for both his buddies.

'It's amazing,' Mulder said, standing in the A's dugout with his three children before the game. 'I just want to see them both pitch well.'

Mulder is now an ESPN analyst and will throw out the ceremonial first pitches Sunday with Zito and Hudson. He applauded Zito for toughing it out in the minors this season before being called up.

'It's amazing,' he said. 'I don't think I would have done it. But it shows his love for the game.'

Hudson, who has battled hip problems this year, was asked if he had another start in him for what would be a curtain call at home in San Francisco Thursday.

'That's my plan,' he said.

At the end of last season, Hudson said 2015 would likely be his final year. Though he feels achy and older these days, he said he and Zito still love the game and wanted to be part of the competition for as long as possible.

'It's been 17 years and I feel like I'm still young at heart — moving around, not so much sometimes,' he said. 'But I still feel like a kid out there playing and I'm sure Barry feels the same way ... you never know when it's going to be your last day playing. To be able to do it as long as I have is something special.'