SAN DIEGO _ Rich Hill, after 22 pitches spent grimacing, hobbling and grunting, prepared to bat as soon as he limped into the visitors' dugout during the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. He was clearly uncomfortable in his first inning on the mound at Petco Park. His left knee, containing a sprained medial collateral ligament, undoubtedly bothered him. He was nearly removed before he willed his way to three outs. A second inning seemed unlikely.
But Hill, a dogged 39-year-old journeyman, was determined to stay in the game and complete his two-inning assignment. He desperately wants to prove he can help his club in the postseason so he took his bat, put on his batting helmet, slipped on his batting gloves, and stepped out onto the on-deck circle. He was going to hit and then he was going to pitch a second inning.
Two pitches into his at-bat, Hill, whose batting stance was textbook about a century ago, sliced a line drive down the left-field line off right-hander Ronaldo Bolanos. He tottered around first base for a double. The Dodgers' dugout erupted at the sight of Hill's first extra-base hit since 2017.
Hill, perhaps for the best, was left stranded at second. He took the mound again moments later to place another exclamation point to a valiant performance by striking out the side on 12 pitches. He concluded his night with five strikeouts in two innings. He didn't give up a hit and walked two. He threw 35 pitches and headed out to the bullpen beyond the wall in left-center field to toss more.
The Dodgers (101-56) took a 1-0 lead against Bolanos, an erratic hard thrower, in the first inning. The margin was inflated to five runs when Max Muncy, playing in his first game since injuring his quadriceps Friday, demolished a moonshot for a grand slam off right-hander Gerardo Reyes. Muncy's 34th home run this season was the Dodgers' seventh grand slam. Only the Chicago Cubs (10) have accumulated more in the National League.
Dylan Floro gave up three runs and five hits in the fifth inning, but that was all the Padres (70-87), in their third game since manager Andy Green was fired, could muster against the Dodgers' eight pitchers.
Tony Gonsolin, still auditioning for a spot on the playoff roster, relieved Hill and recorded two clean innings. Adam Kolarek continued starring in his role of left-handed specialist with a strikeout of Eric Hosmer to end the fifth inning.
Kenta Maeda walked one batter in 11/3 innings, Julio Urias was sharp in his two-thirds of an inning, and Pedro Baez tossed a perfect eighth before Kenley Jansen was summoned for the ninth. The closer issued a two-out walk but avoided any damage for his 31st save in 39 changes.
During the middle of the pitching carousel, the Atlanta Braves lost to the Kansas City Royals to clinch for the Dodgers the top seed in the NL playoffs. They will have home-field advantage in an NL Division Series and in the Championship Series should they advance that far.
Hill aspires to help the Dodgers through those two rounds. He started Tuesday after spending some time convincing his superiors he could pitch through his knee ailment without a significant amount of missed time.
Hill reinjured his MCL on Sept. 12, in his first start after nearly two months on the injured list because of a forearm strain. He initially injured the knee in spring training and made his season debut six weeks later. Hill could only secure two outs that night in Baltimore against the Orioles. An MRI exam showed scar tissue was causing the pain.
To avoid the discomfort, Hill tinkered with his footing on the mound in bullpen sessions. The Dodgers determined the workaround was promising enough to warrant another chance. He was given Tuesday's start and a second in Sunday's regular-season finale. The first inning Tuesday suggested that was a miscalculation.
Pitching with a knee brace protruding through his gray baseball pants, Hill favored his left leg from the outset as he battled to complete his first inning since June 19. He appeared to aggravate the knee on his fourth pitch. He struck out Manuel Margot, the leadoff hitter, with his seventh pitch but limped after delivering it.
He didn't finish some of his trademark curveballs, leaving them high and out of the strike zone, and his fastball didn't reach 90 mph. Manager Dave Roberts and pitching coach Rich Honeycutt observed together with angst. Honeycutt was on the phone with the bullpen after Hill walked the second batter, Nick Martini. Floro soon began warming up. Hill seemed destined for another premature exit.
Hill walked Manny Machado before getting Eric Hosmer to hit a grounder to Muncy at first base. Muncy threw to second base to get an out, leaving Hill to cover first base for a potential double play. But Hill's gait was hindered. The Dodgers settled for one out before Hill struck out Hunter Renfroe swinging at a curveball.
Hill's outing, season, and maybe even Dodgers career, could have ended there. But the soon-to-be free agent refused to relent. He grabbed a piece of lumber instead.
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