Kansas City’s Rich Hill on Tuesday night seemed a bit rusty in his return to the majors as baseball’s oldest active player.
His Royals teammates did not make the 45-year-old left-hander’s start against the Chicago Cubs any easier.
Hill gave up three runs and six hits over five innings in his first major league appearance since September last year with the Boston Red Sox. He threw 90 pitches (55 strikes), walking two and striking out one before Jonathan Bowlan took over for the sixth with Chicago leading 3-0.
Photo: AP
The Cubs went on to win 6-0 with Hill taking the loss.
Hill labored in the second inning when he threw 31 pitches and allowed two unearned runs as the Royals let him down defensively and Chicago took a 2-0 lead.
“He battled his butt off out there,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “It was tough work out there early.”
Hill agreed the early game was tough.
“You know, the second inning was a little bit of a grind to get through,” Hill said. “But overall, I felt like the ball came out of my hand pretty much the way I wanted to.”
Hill settled in for his final three innings, retiring eight of nine before Carson Kelly singled with two outs in the fifth and Pete Crow-Armstrong lined an RBI double over right fielder Jac Caglianone.
The Cubs also stole four bases off Hill, including a double steal by Turner and Shaw in the second.
Hill was selected from Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers before the game.
Hill’s start at Wrigley Field marked the debut of his 21st season in the majors and his first with Kansas City. The Royals are his 14th major league team, matching Edwin Jackson’s record.
Hill became the oldest player to start a major league game since May 27, 2012, when lefty Jamie Moyer tossed his final game with Colorado at age 49.
Hill is filling a spot in the Royals rotation for Michael Lorenzen, out with a left oblique strain. Quatraro did not say when he might pitch next.
Hill clearly wants to.
“It’s easy to say that you love it, but when you know you have more to give, it’s tough to walk away,” Hill said.
At 45 years and 133 days, Hill became the oldest player in Royals history, passing Hall-of-Fame right-hander Gaylord Perry, who appeared in two games with Kansas City in 1983 after he turned 45.
The 1.96m Hill began his career with the Cubs, making his big-league debut with a one-inning relief appearance against the then-Florida Marlins on June 15, 2005. He gave up two runs and three hits.
Hill had been at Omaha after signing a minor-league free-agent deal with the Royals in May. He was 4-4 with a 5.36 ERA in nine starts at the affiliate.
A Boston native, Hill appeared in four games last season for the Red Sox. Without spring training, he started his preparation at home in Massachusetts.
“You know going into this season, is knowing there was something left and knowing I could contribute to a ball club,” Hill said
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Red Sox 4-1, the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-3, the Pittsburgh Pirates hit eight doubles in their 8-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers, the Miami Marlins pipped the San Diego Padres 4-3 and the Washington Nationals allowed just one run in their 6-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
The Tampa Bay Rays survived the Chicago White Sox 4-3, the New York Yankees overcame the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4, the New York Mets pipped the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 and the San Francisco Giants blanked the Atlanta Braves 9-0.
The Texas Ranger blasted the Athletics 6-2, the Colorado Rockies outplayed the St Louis Cardinals 8-4, the Seattle Mariners snapped the Milwaukee Brewers’ 11-game winning streak with a 1-0 victory, the Houston Astros brought down the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 and the Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-7.
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