Hill shows he's still got it while holding Astros in check

April 12th, 2023
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PITTSBURGH -- The beginning of the Major League Baseball season is a time for fun with small sample-size statistics.

Bryan Reynolds is on pace for 60 home runs. Luis Arraez is set to break Nap Lajoie’s 1901 batting average record by more than 100 points. The Tampa Bay Rays are on pace to never lose.

The opposite corollaries to some of those stats aren’t nearly as fun.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher , the oldest player in the Majors at 43 years old, entered play on Wednesday with an ERA of 10.00. In two starts, he had allowed an MLB-leading five home runs. For almost any other player, such a slow start would be just that.

But Hill knows that Father Time will come for him eventually. There had to be at least a little bit of worry that the end of the road had come, right? Oh, and to add to the worry, the reigning World Series champions were across the diamond on Wednesday, with a lineup stacked with eight right-handers against the lefty.

If there was any concern in Hill, he sure didn’t show it. Hill got back to looking like his old, younger self, giving up two runs in six innings of work in what became a 7-0 loss to the Houston Astros at PNC Park.

The quality start lowered Hill’s ERA all the way down to 7.20. He worked around baserunners in all but one inning and didn’t strike anyone out, but the southpaw induced a bunch of weak contact to keep getting out of jams against the dangerous Astros lineup.

The difference between his rough first two outings and this promising one? Some film work, and the confidence of a been-there, done-that guy who knows what was wrong, what was right and that he is still good enough to make it better.

“With anything in life, if you look at someone who’s done something over the course of two decades, it speaks to the experience,” Hill said. “I think that’s something that’s valuable in all walks of life, the experience and understanding what you do well and sticking to what you do well.”

Of course, that wisdom is part of the reason the Pirates sought out Hill. Not only is he a key member of their starting rotation, but he’s also serving as an example for young pitchers to follow. Even without making it a lesson, Hill has shown the Pirates’ young starters how he deals with adversity, gets back in the lab to fix things, and above all, never panics. He hopes that mindset is contagious.

“It absolutely can be,” Hill said. “I think that’s part of the reason you see some of the veteran leadership in this locker room, why guys are having fun on a daily basis and the stress levels are, in my opinion, pretty low.

“... That’s something that’s going to serve a great purpose here in the early part of the season, to maintain a steady ship, but also to understand that this is a long season and to continue to stick with your process.”

If Hill can continue to chip away at his inflated ERA and also provide a positive example to a young pitching staff that has already been stretched by a pair of injuries, that will keep the Pirates more than happy with his services.

“He’ll be fine,” said fellow veteran Carlos Santana, although the 37-year-old might not exactly be a neutral party in the battle against Father Time. “Everybody knows Rich. … He’ll finish strong.”

Cold bats, high heads
The Pirates struggled to get much of anything going offensively against Astros starter José Urquidy, managing just three hits on the afternoon. When the Pirates did hit the ball hard, the Houston defense was up to the task with several diving catches in the outfield.

The Pittsburgh players could only tip their caps, recognize the greatness of one of the top teams and hope the early-season measuring stick affords them the chance to measure their progress against baseball’s best as they move along.

“This is a very good team,” Hill said. “We shouldn’t be hanging our heads, so to speak. We have a big series coming up against St. Louis. That’s our focus now, is to move on to that. We’ve played some really good teams.”

Weird baseball
The game was delayed before the top of the fourth inning after home-plate umpire Jerry Layne was struck on the hand with a ball and could not continue. Hill waited for a while in the dugout before eventually standing on the mound as first-base umpire Brock Ballou got suited up to take over behind the plate. Hill said the delay did not impact him.

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