In a Dodger loss, a win is earned
It was clear from the time that he went on the disabled list on May 20, despite skin hanging off his middle finger, that Rich Hill hated being on the shelf.
Six days after going on the disabled list, he was on the mound at Dodger Stadium pitching a simulated game with a bandage covering a nasty blister.
He couldn’t stand still — pitching bullpen and simulated games and taking laser treatments and keeping himself visible. All for this moment.
In the bottom of the sixth inning on Tuesday at Wrigley Field with runners on the corner and two outs, Hill, on the day he was removed from the disabled list, faced Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras.
One curveball. Two curveballs. Another. And a fourth — right by Contreras for a called third strike.
Hill walked off the mound and let out a triumphant, cathartic yell.
Hill left the game with a lead, one the Dodgers would lose along with the game 2–1, but it was a win in the sense that a vital Dodger starting pitcher came back strong and came out healthy.
“His intensity was good, as always,” said manager Dave Roberts to SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo. “The fastball command, the curveball command — it was on point tonight. You hope to get something like that, but you never know what you’re going to get from a first start back from injury. But again, he was outstanding.”
Hill went six innings, allowed three hits, walked two, struck out six and kept the Cubs off the scoreboard.
He ran into trouble in the second inning, loading the bases, but he escaped by striking out Cubs starting pitcher Mike Montgomery. That began a string of 11 straight Cubs retired.
“Stay in the moment. Making sure every pitch that’s coming out of your hand is the way you want it to and the execution will take care of itself,” was how Hill described getting through Tuesday’s pressure situations.
Of Hill’s first 15 curveballs, seven were thrown for strikes. Of his last 23, 19 were strikes.
first 15 curves 7 strikes
By game score (72), it was Hill’s best game of the year.
The Dodgers grabbed a 1–0 lead in the sixth after Cody Bellinger stole second base and came around to score on an Austin Barnes single.
However, the Cubs became the first team to get to reliever Erik Goeddel as a Dodger. Kyle Schwarber hit a solo home run off him in the seventh. Goeddel had previously not allowed a run in 13 games since joining the Dodgers.
The Cubs walked off with the win after Kris Bryant tripled in the 10th inning off Brock Stewart and scored on an Albert Almora Jr. single.
The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the second and 10th innings and were 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
