The Los Angeles Dodgers emerged victorious in the series opener against the rival San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night behind timely hitting. The Dodgers’ win extended their lead in the National League West to two games.
Now the spotlight shifts to Rich Hill as the southpaw makes his long-awaited debut with the Dodgers. The 36-year-old has been tormented by multiple blisters since being traded to the Dodgers; Hill’s debut was delayed three separate occasions.
He threw a simulated game at Camelback Ranch last week as a final test. Hill’s lone career start at Dodger Stadium came in 2007 when he was with the Chicago Cubs.
The southpaw tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and walking two. Hill has faced the Giants five times from 2005-07, going 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He enters the matchup 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA, 2.54 FIP and 1.09 WHIP.
Hill has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any of his 14 starts this season. “I’m as excited as everyone. I know he’s excited to finally make his Dodgers debut,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said prior to Wednesday’s game.
“I know he’s going to go out there and compete. I don’t know how his execution will be. Obviously, I’m sure he’s going to expect the best of himself, which all competitors do. I know he’s going to give us a chance to win the game tonight. That’s all we expect.”
Hill is opposed by the only right-handed starter the Dodgers are facing in the series, Johnny Cueto. He turned in a quality start in his previous outing, allowing just one run over seven innings against the New York Mets.
The outing was the only in Cueto’s last five where he didn’t allow at least three runs. On the season, Cueto is 14-3 with a 2.90 ERA, 3.06 FIP and 1.09 WHIP. His 1.7 walks allowed per nine innings are a career low, while his 4.61 strikeout-to-walk ratio is on pace for a career high.
Cueto is undefeated in three starts against the Dodgers this season, going 2-0 with a 3.63 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. He held the Dodgers to one run over 7.1 innings of a start at Dodger Stadium.
For his career, Cueto is 4-5 against Los Angeles with a 3.06 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. Also of note, the 30-year-old is 2-4 with a 3.03 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in six career starts at Dodger Stadium.
Corey Seager, who enters the matchup with a 14-game hitting streak, is 3-for-11 with one RBI in his career against Cueto. Adrian Gonzalez, riding a 16-game hitting streak, is 6-for-22 with a home run and four RBIs off the right-hander.
While Chase Utley has been battling foot issues of late, he’s had the most success against the Giants’ starter, batting .357/.455/.500 with one home run and two RBIs in his career.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Utley was “adamant” about being in the lineup Wednesday night after a brief appearance in the series opener.
Dodgers lineup:
2B: Chase Utley
SS: Corey Seager
3B: Justin Turner
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
C: Yasmani Grandal
RF: Josh Reddick
CF: Joc Pederson
LF: Howie Kendrick
P: Rich Hill
Giants lineup:
3B: Eduardo Nunez
LF: Angel Pagan
C: Buster Posey
RF: Hunter Pence
SS: Brandon Crawford
CF: Gorkys Hernandez
1B: Brandon Belt
2B: Ehire Adrianza
P: Johnny Cueto
