Rich Hill was named National League Pitcher of the Month for July, which is fitting considering the turnaround the veteran starter had. Hill’s overcome a shaky start to the season to emerge as the pitcher the Los Angeles Dodgers expected when they re-signed him to a three-year contract.
Hill went 4–0 in five starts during July with a 1.45 ERA and 0.77 WHIP, while collecting 40 strikeouts against just five walks, and holding opponents to a .171/.220/.288 batting line in 31 innings pitched.
He allowed one run or fewer in four of the outings, and the Dodgers won each of the games Hill took the mound. He began the month with an 11-strikeout performance, and produced starts with nine, nine and eight strikeouts.
Not to be forgotten, Hill also went 2-for-4 with an RBI against the San Diego Padres on July 1. He’s rebounded since seemingly bottoming out June 15 and allowing seven runs to the Cleveland Indians in only four innings of work.
In seven starts since that time, he’s 5-1 with a 1.88 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 43 innings pitched.
“It’s all part of the process and continuing to put in the work and time every single day,” said Hill after his last start on continuing to add to his string of impressive outings.
“You have to take chances and put a certain amount of risk on the line. It’s not going to be a clean run at all if you want to be successful. You just continue to keep putting your head down and move forward.”
Overall this season, Hill is 8-4 with a 3.35 ERA, 3.72 FIP and 1.18 WHIP in 15 starts. Along with finding success behind a streamlined delivery, Hill has avoided trouble with blisters since the early stages of the year.
In addition to Hill, Alex Wood has also taken home NL Pitcher of the Month honors this season, as he was recognized for a stellar performance throughout May.
