After beginning the season on the 10-day injured list due to a strained MCL in his left knee and extending his rehab assignment to include pitching in extended Spring Training, Rich Hill was eager to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Whether that adrenaline worked against Hill or the Pittsburgh Pirates simply had the advantage early, his 2019 debut got off to a shaky start. Hill and the Dodgers faced a deficit two batters into Sunday’s game when Melky Cabrera hit a solo home run.
Shaky defense in the second inning led the Pirates scoring four more runs, capped off by Cabrera’s two-run homer. But Hill settled in from there as he retired 13 in a row to get through six innings.
“Didn’t change anything,” he answered when asked about the stark differences. Hill also was unaware of the Pirates may have been picking up on anything through the first two innings.
“Not that I know of, no. I just continue to keep executing and making pitches,” he said.
“I’ve always continuously gotten better as outings go on. If we want to talk about third time through the order and how numbers may be skewed against the pitcher, the argument for me is that the batting averages decrease significantly. I would say, yes, the hitters get to see you three times but you also get to see them three times.”
Hill managing to keep the Pirates at bay the remainder of his outing ultimately paid off as the Dodgers steadily chipped away at their deficit. A three-run fifth inning tied the game and ultimately got Hill off the hook for a potential loss.
L.A. took the lead in the seventh inning and hung on to complete a sweep at Dodger Stadium. In doing so they maintained the best record in the National League and currently pace the Majors with 19 wins.
“I love going out there and performing and joining this team,” Hill said. “I’ve been around for a little bit and part of many rosters, this is probably the best team I’ve ever been around. It’s exciting, I know the fans are excited, and I think we’re starting to hit our stride.
“Just continuing to keep fighting like we did today and keep giving that effort that I know we will continue to give the rest of the year.”
Hill holding this season’s Dodgers in such high regard certainly carries some weight, considering the 2017 club won 104 games. Moreover, last year’s group fought their way back up the NL West standings to reach the World Series a second consecutive season.
While the team win was at the forefront of Hill’s mind, he was informed of boasting the best batting average in baseball by lining a base hit into right field in his only at-bat.
“I mean, that’s the biggest takeaway from today,” he quipped.
