It was just over 20 years ago, on June 15, 2005, that Rich Hill made his major-league debut with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Now, at age 45, the veteran left-hander has come full circle. He will return to the majors on that very same mound, but this time he’ll do so as a member of the Kansas City Royals in the second game of a three-game set on Tuesday.
The Royals signed Hill to a minor league contract in May. He went 4-4 with a 5.22 ERA, including 61 strikeouts over 50 innings, in 11 minor league starts, nine of those coming with Triple-A Omaha. He allowed two runs or fewer in six of his outings but didn’t pitch more than six innings in any game.
“He throws a ton of strikes,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “He’s very athletic and keeps himself in great shape. He can move around the mound well. He can change arm angles. So, everything that he’s always done, he’s still capable of doing it.”
Hill, with his appearance, will mark 21 seasons with at least one game in the majors.
Kansas City will be the 14th team Hill has played for, tying Edwin Jackson’s major-league record. At 45 years and 133 days old, Hill will become the oldest player in Royals history, a distinction previously held by Gaylord Perry. A Baseball Hall of Fame member, Perry was 45 years and six days old when he made his final career appearance on Sept. 21, 1983, with the Royals, his eighth team.
As for Hill, he most recently appeared in the majors on Sept. 4, 2024, with the Boston Red Sox. He’s faced the Cubs just six times (five starts) in his career, going 1-2 with a 2.90 ERA in those contests.
The Royals will look to build off their offensive outburst as they try to claim the series after winning the opener on Monday, 12-4. Salvador Perez’s hot streak coming out of the All-Star break continued with a pair of home runs, his third straight game with a homer, and extended his hitting streak to four games. He’s gone 7-for-15 in that stretch for a .467 average.
The Cubs, meanwhile, will be looking to rebound from the loss, which dropped them to second in the National League Central, a game behind the Milwaukee Brewers. The hot Brewers have won 11 consecutive games. The Cubs are 5-5 in their past 10.
Chicago spent 108 days in the division lead, and had its biggest margin — 6 1/2 games — on June 17.
Matthew Boyd (10-3, 2.34 ERA) will get the start for Chicago. The 34-year-old lefty, who is 8-11 with a 5.22 ERA in 29 career appearances (28 starts) against the Royals, is enjoying one of the best seasons of his major-league career and earned his first All-Star nod.
His ERA is fifth-best among qualified starters, with only Paul Skenes (1.91), Tarik Skubal (2.19), Garrett Crochet (2.19) and Jacob deGrom (2.32) ahead of him.
His accomplishments come after two major surgeries over the past four years — for a torn left flexor tendon in 2021 and Tommy John surgery in 2023.
“In rehab, the big thing for me was, who am I?,” he told MLB.com earlier this month. “Let’s go be the most comfortable version of me and see where the metrics play out. Little tweaks. I’m not going to chase something at the risk of it ruining something else.”
Chicago played without one of its All-Stars on Monday as center-fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong sat out with a bruised right knee sustained on a slide on Sunday in a 6-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox. It’s unknown if he’ll be available Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
