For a second consecutive night Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts found himself embroiled in a conversation with a competitive left-hander. On Friday, Roberts had to explain to Clayton Kershaw why three innings was sufficient. The stakes were much higher with Rich Hill on Saturday.
He was dominant for the Dodgers yet again, racking up nine strikeouts, which included striking out the side in the sixth to cap off a stretch of fanning five straight batters. But beyond that, Hill was perfect through seven innings.
It wasn’t without some drama, as Yasiel Puig ran 85 feet to make a diving catch just shy of the warning track in left field for the final out in the seventh. Hill was at 89 pitches to that point, and never threw another.
“I get it. Obviously I didn’t want to come out of the game,” said Hill after the game when asked about Roberts’ decision to hand Joe Blanton the ball in the eighth inning.
“But I think there’s a bigger picture here, and we all know what it is. It’s something that put Dave in a very difficult position. You look at it and you move on. That’s all you can do. We’re in the middle of this race right now, so just continue to move forward. That’s the best way I can put it.”
Roberts said the decision left him sick to his stomach, and explained it came in part due to concern over Hill’s blister. While the southpaw was expressed an understanding of being removed, he didn’t believe there were any issues with his blister.
“The finger is fine. Everything is good,” Hill said. Now in three starts with the Dodgers the 36-year-old has thrown a combined 19 shutout innings, allowed just six hits (all singles), and recorded 20 strikeouts.
Los Angeles remained four games ahead of the San Francisco Giants, who also won Saturday night. “The really important thing is we got the win,” Hill said.
