Rich Hill not only got through his first start off the 10-day disabled list without a relapse of more blister trouble, he was dominant against the Chicago Cubs. But the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to generate run support in a 2-1 loss in 10 innings.
Hill held the Cubs to just three hits over six shutout innings. That was on an Addison Russell single that put two on with one out in the second. Hill issued a walk after a force out, then proceeded to retire 10 in a row through five innings.
He stretched it to 11 by striking out Kris Bryant to lead off the sixth but then had the stretch snapped by Javier Baez’s bunt single. A force out and Anthony Rizzo’s two-out single put runners at the corners, stressing Hill for only the second time in the game.
He preserved the Dodgers’ slim lead by freezing Willson Contreras with a curveball for called strike three.
For as well as Hill pitched, Mike Montgomery matched him for much of the night. Walks by Yasiel Puig and Cody Bellinger and Logan Forsythe’s single loaded the bases with nobody out in the second inning, but they were left full.
Montgomery stranded two more in the third inning and Forsythe’s leadoff double in the fourth, before the Dodgers ultimately managed to crack through in the sixth. Bellinger’s one-out walk turned into more when he alertly stole second base with two outs.
Shortly thereafter, Austin Barnes’ grounder to the left side of the infield got through for an RBI single.
Hill’s brilliance was washed away and a spotlight was further put on the Dodgers’ struggles to hit with runners in scoring position when Erik Goeddel surrendered a game-tying home run to Kyle Schwarber with one out in the seventh. Goeddel entered with a 14.1 scoreless innings streak.
Brock Stewart, who was recalled as the permitted 26th man for the doubleheader, gave up a leadoff triple to Bryant in the 10th inning. After an intentional walk, Albert Almora drilled a walk-off single by a diving Forsythe.
Los Angeles put the leadoff man on base in eight of 10 innings, went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 overall.
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