Rich Hill provided a boost to the reeling Los Angeles Dodgers rotation by returning from the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. The start was Hill’s first since May 19, when he lasted all of two pitches before blister trouble cropped up once again.
The outing against the Chicago Cubs was arguably Hill’s best of the season and a drastic change from how the rest of his 2018 campaign has gone thus far. Hill allowed just three hits and recorded six strikeouts over six shutout innings.
He also went six scoreless frames against the San Francisco Giants in his first start of the season. That was followed by the veteran left-hander posting an 8.20 ERA in his next four outings.
Tuesday’s start could mark a return to form for Hill, as it was the first since he implemented a mechanical change.
Hill said he discovered and fixed a mechanical flaw during his month on the disabled list and therefor views that time as ultimately being useful, via MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick:
“The changes we made, made a huge difference,” Hill said. “Just making sure my weight is going through my heel. When I don’t, I tend to drift. If you want to talk about silver linings, that’s a really good way to look at it. I took the time to see how I could clean things up mechanically to get back to where I was the last three years. I do look at it that way.”
Hill has not hidden his frustration with his constant blister issues, so his talk of progress is a great sign. He expressed optimism about his mechanical improvements last week, saying his curveball is at its best in years.
That came after Hill struck out 10 in a rehab start for High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He was one of the team’s most consistent starters in the second half of 2017, and earned a spot in the Dodgers’ playoff rotation between Clayton Kershaw and Yu Darvish.
Hill only made it through five innings once, but never allowed more than two runs over four postseason starts. He proved especially effective against the Houston Astros in the World Series, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out 12 over 8.2 innings.
Hill is now in his second full season with the Dodgers after being acquired in a 2016 trade deadline deal with the Oakland Athletics. This is the second of a three-year, $48 million contract he signed with the club.
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