Hill downplays finger injury in loss to Reds

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill left Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Reds unexpectedly, but he and manager Dave Roberts downplayed the possibility that the latest issue with his left middle finger would require him to miss a start.
Hill retired José Peraza on a fly ball to deep center field for the second out in the top of the sixth inning with the Dodgers trailing, 3-1. Roberts and a trainer rushed to the mound, Hill touched his middle finger and immediately left the game.
But after the game, the two made it sound almost as if it never happened.
"Things will be fine for Saturday," said Hill. "I think everything will be OK."

"There was something in the sixth inning with that blister," said Roberts. "To try to get ahead of that, we had to remove him from the game. We'll keep track of that for the next couple of days."
Hill has had chronic issues with the finger since his acquisition from the A's, while on the disabled list, in 2016. He spent 24 days on the disabled list this season with a cracked nail and infection, being activated last Tuesday night.
If Hill's removal was just a ruse to get unlimited warm-up time for switch-reliever Pat Venditte, it didn't help. Venditte allowed a single to Alex Blandino and a home run to Joey Votto.