The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation was plagued by injuries early this season as Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Kenta Maeda and Walker Buehler all spent time on the disabled list in the first half.
Because of that, not a single starter on the staff had reached the 10-win plateau on the season until Saturday night when the Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres, 7-2.
Rich Hill got the start for Los Angeles and looked like a man on a mission, tossing seven innings of one-run ball to move to 10-5 on the year. He allowed just four hits while striking out seven.
After the game, Hill downplayed being the first starter on the staff to earn 10 wins as he is more focused on team success, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“I don’t really pay any attention to that. I’m just excited that we won and we’re keeping pace with where we should be. As long as we continue to win and make that push for the division, that’s all that matters.”
Hill had given up four earned runs in each of his last three starts, so he was struggling a bit heading into the outing against the Padres. He explained what made him successful and how he was able to get back on track:
“Just the fastball-curveball mix. Getting back to what I do best and executing curveballs, throwing them for strikes and just getting ahead that helps a lot too. Even if you’re behind 1-0, make sure that you get back to a 1-1 count and put yourself in a positive situation to finish the at-bat.”
Hill has been an essential part of the Dodgers rotation when healthy over the last three seasons. He will make one more regular-season start during the upcoming weekend against the San Francisco Giants and then possibly begin preparing for another postseason run.
Considering how well Buehler has pitched, Hill may find himself bumped back to being the Game 3 starter, however that could hinge on opponent and whether or not the Dodgers have home-field advantage in a potential National League Division Series.
