Potanko: Rich Hill Just What Doctor Ordered for Pirates (+)
PITTSBURGH- Prior to Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates’ starters had gone a combined six innings in the previous two games against the Cardinals.
Rich Hill was just what the doctor ordered for the Pirates and their taxed bullpen.
Coming into his 12th start on the season, the longest Hill had pitched in 2023 was 6.1 innings on April 29 against the Washington Nationals.
Flash forward to Sunday’s start against the Cardinals, Hill pitched a phenomenal 6.2 innings while giving up just one run, and kept the Cardinals’ big hitters in check all game.
“It was huge; that’s what veteran starters do,” said Shelton on Hill, going 6.2 innings. “He’s very aware of how we used our bullpen, and he went out and executed pitches and was able to mix and match against a right-handed lineup with the exception of Gorman, who hits left-handers. He kept them off-balance the entire day. He made one bad pitch. He made a bad cutter that turned into a slider, but other than that, I thought he was outstanding.”
Between Hill and the bullpen, Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman, and Paul Goldschmidt were held to 0-12 with a hit-by-pitch. When you can hold those hitters in check, it usually means good things are going to happen.
“We’re talking about Gorman, who’s one of the best hitters in the game right now,” said Shelton on holding those three hitless. “and then the other two guys, I mean one won an MVP and the other finished second or third. All three are elite hitters, and the fact that we were able to execute on both sides of the plate with multiple pitches was huge. The fact that we kept them off the bases changes the dynamic of the entire series.”
With the game being on Peakcock Sunday morning and the fact it was an 11:35 start time, having Hill be the starter for that game was probably crucial to the Pirates’ success on Sunday.
“[Hill was the perfect guy,” said Shelton on Hill starting on Sunday. “The fact that we have three rookies in our rotation, we have a veteran guy who knows how to prepare and get himself ready. If we’re going to have a game like that, I think he’s the guy to do it because he knows how to prepare.”
At one point in the game, Hill had allowed the leadoff hitter on base through the first four innings of the game. It can be hard for a pitcher to navigate that, but Hill did it, no problem, it seemed.
“I think he had two four-pitch walks in the third and the fourth,” said Shelton on Hill, navigating through trouble. “One of them was to Edman, so he’s getting to the middle of their order. But just his ability to know he can execute pitches. He threw the pitches he wanted to throw, and they didn’t swing at them. The fact that he’s able to bounce back and continue to execute shows how savvy he is as a veteran.”
Hill commented on navigating through trouble as well.
“I think it was about feeling the ball and the way it was coming out of my hand. In a couple of those innings, the leadoff guy got on. I can feel where I’m just missing the curveballs and kind of leaking a little bit on them, and then I’d make adjustments to the next batter. I think that was the piece, being able to execute those pitches to be able to put us in a good position to get outs.”
With Hill’s performance and the bullpen holding the fort, the Pirates were able to pull off a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals and earned their first sweep since April.
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