For reasons largely unknown, Rich Hill has struggled throughout his career during Spring Training. But 2018 was proving to be a different story for the southpaw as the Los Angeles Dodgers have slowly brought him along.
After going through work in a controlled environment on the backfields at Camelback Ranch, Hill had allowed just just two runs (one earned) in seven innings through his first two Cactus League starts. He had eight strikeouts without issuing a walk over that span.
Hill’s success quickly came to an end Wednesday, however, as the Kansas City Royals tattooed him for six runs on seven hits. He allowed three singles, two doubles, a triple, one home run, and retired just one of eight batters faced.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts brought the hook for Hill at 35 pitches, though the veteran lefty went to the bullpen for additional work to make further progress on stretching out for the regular season.
After the disappointing outing, Hill didn’t pull any punches when assessing his performance, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“Pitching like that is not fun,” said Hill. “It’s unacceptable. The wind had nothing to do with the pitches. I didn’t execute. A disappointing day. To get those results is tough. I’ve got to sit there for five days with that. You feel like you ought to go back out there tomorrow and pitch. Got to move forward.”
Although it makes little-to-no difference in the grand scheme of things, Hill’s Spring Training ERA ballooned to 8.59. He finished with a 6.19 ERA last spring, then pitched to a 3.32 ERA in 25 starts during the regular season.
Hill is using this spring to further refine his curveball and fastball, both of which he throws at wide range of velocities and arm angles. It’s unclear if his next time pitching will come on the Minor League side or in a Cactus League game.