Before taking the mound Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium for the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Rich Hill went 24 days between starts. A return from his stint on the disabled list, which seemed to be precautionary, was twice delayed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hill was initially put on the DL due to inflammation in the middle finger on his throwing hand. At the time, Hill asserted he was healthy enough to make a previously scheduled start against the Washington Nationals.
He was then penciled to face the Diamondbacks at Chase Field but wasn’t activated because an infection developed in the finger. Hill’s expected return was pushed back to the finale of the Mexico Series, though that too never manifested.
Minor concern over how the humidity may affect Hill’s finger, plus Clayton Kershaw being placed on the disabled list with bicep tendinitis, led to the Dodgers not activating Hill until Tuesday night.
He was roughed around by the Diamondbacks and following the game said the loss was his responsibility to own, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“This loss falls on me,” said Hill. “It’s really disappointing and frustrating. To pitch the way I did is unacceptable. The fastballs to righties, in certain counts, starting to leak back over the plate, one of the things I’m seeing that is a theme for the balls leaving the yard.”
Hill tied a season-low by completing just four innings. He allowed five runs on seven hits, including three home runs. One of which was to A.J. Pollock in the first inning, giving him eight homers in 11 games against the Dodgers this season.
Hill worked around a leadoff walk in the second inning but surrendered home runs to Chris Owings and John Ryan Murphy in the third and fourth, respectively.
On the season, the veteran southpaw is 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA and 1.74 WHIP in four starts. Hill has allowed a combined 12 runs on 14 hits (five home runs) in two outings against the Diamondbacks. He also has 10 strikeouts against four walks over nine innings in those games.
