San Francisco (AFP) - San Francisco pitcher Tim Hudson takes the mound on Friday as the Giants host Kansas City in game three of the World Series, a chance on baseball's biggest stage he once feared might never come.The 39-year-old right-hander has 16 seasons in Major League Baseball -- making 457 career starts for Oakland, Atlanta and San Francisco.In the early years, when playoff appearances were plentiful, he never doubted that he would one day pitch in a World Series.But as post-season trips dried up, he admits doubts began to creep in."You see the window start to gradually shrink," Hudson said Thursday.When his 2013 season ended with a broken right ankle in July "things looked bleak for a little bit there," Hudson said.But he inked a $23 million two-year contract last November with the Giants, joining up with a contender that won the World Series in 2010 and 2012.Now he finds himself tasked with leading their bid to rebound from a game-two loss to the Royals in Kansas City on Wednesday that knotted American baseball's best-of-seven championship showcase at one game apiece."Obviously it's the biggest stage, it's the pinnacle of baseball," he said.