SnakeBytes, 9/3: Welcome back, Hudson

Recaps

[AP] Hudson returns in D-backs' victory - "It was great. It was a lot of fun. I don't really have much to say. It's just a lot of emotions right now. I'm just glad I was able to get in there. It went as well as it could have," Hudson said. Asked what he was thinking as he ran in from the bullpen, he said: "I hadn't done this in a long time and it's a lot farther than I remember... Even if I go out tomorrow and it blows again, it was all worth it. It was a long time coming. Thankfully today came."

[AZ Central] Daniel Hudson returns as Diamondbacks top Padres - "There was a lot of emotion," Miguel Montero said. "I didn't even feel like I could look him in the eyes because I probably would have cried. I know all that he's been through and how hard he fought to come back and be here and do what he did today."

[dbacks.com] Collmenter cruises to ease concerns of fatigue - "I've been able to locate, move the ball in and out and mix pitches up," Collmenter said. "That's my game plan. Just trying to force contact. I don't want to be a guy that walks guys and gets behind in the count. Today I was a little more erratic than the last couple, but I was still able to make some pitches when I needed to and guys made some good plays for me."

[Arizona Sports] Three men return, Arizona Diamondbacks beat Padres - Daniel Hudson made his first appearance for the D-backs since June 2012, while infielder Chris Owings made his first start since July 25 and outfielder Cody Ross had his first at-bat since July 21. Owings and Ross combined to go 2-for-5 on Wednesday. Owings singled and scored in the first inning and added a sacrifice fly in the ninth, while Ross contributed a pinch-hit single in the ninth.

Team News

[AZ Central] Hill could be pricey bench player - Kevin Towers says that in a "perfect world," his club's middle infield of the future would consist of Didi Gregorius at shortstop and Chris Owings at second base. Barring a trade, that alignment would make Aaron Hill a very expensive bench player. "If we didn't have very good young middle infielders, he'd be playing second base probably still," Towers said. "We're trying to give our good young, players some at-bats they need sometimes."

[FOX Sports] Injury, power outage add up to trying season for Trumbo - "It's a tough deal, and it's a valid question," Trumbo said. "Do I try to alter things and start driving the ball a little more, or do I stay with what I've been doing? For me, I know I was brought here to do a job. I'm going to try to have as productive at-bats as I can from here on out. I probably won't alter things too much, but definitely in the offseason I'll probably sit down and look at more film and whatnot and see if some things aren't quite adding up as far as the swing and driving the ball goes."

[dbacks.com] Delgado set to join six-man rotation - The D-backs have seen some improvement with the breaking pitch, so they would like to again give Delgado a chance to start as a way of judging whether he might be a rotation candidate for 2015. "It's a pitch he didn't have last year and really early this year," D-backs GM Kevin Towers said of Delgado's breaking ball. "It was one of the reasons we dropped him out of the rotation; he was a two-pitch pitcher. He's going to get a couple of starts in September. Hopefully he does a good job."

[AZ Central] Randall Delgado gets a chance to shine in starter's role with Diamondbacks - Though Delgado's results might not suggest it, bullpen coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. says the 24-year-old right-hander has made progress this season. "It's not all about the numbers with Randall. I think everybody's seeing the kid's got pretty good stuff. He's still young. His struggles as a starter really lied in not having something to put guys away with, not having that shape of any particular pitch that he could throw for a strike to get guys off his fastball/change-up combo. He's come up with a pretty good curveball and a real good slider."

[AL.com] Variety is spice of baseball for Mobile BayBears' Southern League all-star Tom Belza - There are only three positions where Belza hasn't played this season - pitcher, catcher and shortstop. "It makes it a lot of fun when you show up at the park and you don't know what position you'll be playing that day. It keeps me on my toes,'' Belza, recently named a postseason Southern League all-star selection, said. "The coaches have told me to keep my versatility, that it will help me along the way. Greeny (Mobile manager Andy Green) has been good in giving me the chance to play a lot of different positions.''

And, elsewhere...

[Business Insider] MLB's Replay System Is Now A Huge Money-Maker For The Owners - Most baseball fans rejoiced when they found out Major League Baseball was going to expand its replay system this season. What the fans probably didn't realize was that MLB would turn the replay system into a gigantic sponsorship opportunity.

[Washington Post] Hosting Dominican baseball players feed visitors with their favorites from home - Do you know how hard it is to find a Dominican restaurant in Cincinnati or Minneapolis? So Dominican players — even those who don’t know each other well — take care of each other through their own version of the food network. The Dominicans on the home team are responsible for sending food to their countrymen on the visiting team.

[SI.com] The case of the disappearing slugger: Where did MLB's power go? - After yesterday's piece on vanishing walks, the lack of power is changing the game. "I do think that over the next several years, we'll see an increased emphasis on contact hitting to counter the spate of strikeouts and on whole-field usage to counter the number of shifts, though such things will take time to bubble up through the amateur ranks and the minors. Likewise, the shockingly high number of Tommy John surgeries will hopefully lead to smarter management of pitchers beginning at the amateur level, with pitch counts, innings limits and mandatory rest more rigorously enforced."